[NYAPRS Enews] Albany Forum Looks at Ways to Prevent Problem Gambling

[Briana Gilmore]

NYAPRS Note: Behavioral addictions have scope beyond drug and alcohol dependency, and a public forum invited experts like NYAPRS' Harvey Rosenthal to testify last week on the effects of gambling addiction on the health and wellbeing of community members. As our community based system increases responsiveness with new services and delivery systems, we cannot neglect the impact that the economy-including new casinos-and other social forces have on mental health and propensity for addictive behavior.

Albany Forum Looks at Ways to Prevent Problem Gambling
Legislative Gazette; Matthew McKibben, 4/14/2014

As four new casinos are set to open in New York state within the next two years, the head of the state Gaming Commission Mark Gearan is looking to take the necessary steps to make sure an increased gaming presence in New York doesn't lead to more problem gamblers.

The state Gaming Commission held a public forum last Wednesday in Albany where experts and researchers in the field of problem gambling provided testimony on ways to combat potential addiction that could arise as a result of the new casinos.

The Gaming Commission, the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services and the state Council on Problem Gambling formed the Responsible Play Partnership last year to help address the issue of problem gambling in New York state.

The concern has risen to the fore after voters approved a constitutional amendment in November allowing up to seven Las Vegas-style casinos with full table gaming as well as slot machines. Four casinos are expected to be approved upstate this year and another three could be approved within a few years.

Part of the recently released application guidelines for casino licenses states that a prospective developer must create a plan to combat compulsive and problem gambling. Within the 80-page document is a section dedicated to the ways a casino operator should look to address the issue. Addressing problem gambling falls under the category of "workforce enhancement factors" which will account for 10 percent of the siting board's decision.

"The issue of problem gambling must be a component of the regulatory nature of the industry and our work," Gearan said. "At the outset of my tenure as chair of the commission I made a commitment to further explore this issue."

Those who testified during the forum proposed a number of ideas aimed at helping problem gamblers. Some of the ideas proposed last Wednesday include self-exclusion, a process that allows a person to request to be permanently banned from all legalized gaming activities; training dealers to detect signs of problem gambling by patrons; and highly visible signage that promotes responsible gambling therapy programs on casino floors.

Sarah Nelson, a researcher with the Cambridge Health Alliance of the Harvard Medical School, provided data that suggests if self-help programs are easily accessible to a problem gambler they are more likely to seek help.

She implored the Gaming Commission to conduct a thorough and complete study to put in place treatment programs that will help all New Yorkers, not just residents who live near a casino. Nelson added that too often, the public equates addiction with chemical dependency, but policy makers need to look at gambling addiction in a similar light as drug or alcohol abuse.

"With activities like gambling, behavior and experience can actually stimulate the activity of naturally occurring neurotransmitters and directly act on the brain as well."

University at Albany psychology professor Edelgard Wulfert said casino expansion requires the state to educate New Yorkers about the addictive qualities of gambling. Gambling is neither good nor bad, she says, but it can have disastrous consequences for some people.

"When casinos advertise, we should mandate a program where they describe the possible side effects, similar to prescription drugs," Wulfert said.

Wulfert said the self-exclusion process - where compulsive gamblers choose to have themselves banned from a casino - is not the be-all, end-all for helping compulsive or problem gamblers, but instead it is just one tool that should be used in the process to help addicts.

Harvey Rosenthal, executive director of the state Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services, said the issue of problem gambling is not "on the radar" of mental health institutions so there are not enough training and treatment programs in place across the state. There is data, he said, to support the link between gambling addiction and mental illnesses.

"We need to recognize the importance of bringing the industry, the treatment community, and the local community together to statewide and regional planning," Rosenthal said. "Public education and treatment will be necessary when casinos get off the ground."

Vice President of the Responsible Gaming Policies and Compliance for Caesar's Entertainment Jennifer Shatley, provided testimony last Wednesday about the company's policies and practices. She said the state government, community groups and service providers need to divvy up the responsibilities to combat problem gambling. She went on to say that problem gamblers are "not good people so we do not want them in our venue."

"First and foremost we want our customers to have fun, it's an entertainment venue and they should be using discretionary funds to gamble and we do not want irresponsible people to be gambling in our casino," Shatley said. "That is the driving force we put behind our issues."

Assemblyman Steven Cymbrowitz, who, as chair of the Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse is concerned with policies addressing addiction, was invited to the event but was unable to attend.

In written testimony that was acknowledged and included for the record, he urged the state to increase its self-exclusion program in casinos. The Brooklyn Democrat added the state should enhance the on-site problem gambling support system and develop a "robust network" of compulsive gambling treatment services in every county in order to deal with the spike in problem gambling that will result from New York state's expansion of gaming opportunities.

In his testimony, Cymbrowitz said, "I believe each applicant should consider when developing their problem gambling plans as well as how to ensure [how] we can most effectively meet the needs of those who are dealing with a gambling addiction."

Stephen Shafer, chairman of the Coalition Against Problem Gambling, was not invited to the conference but said in a letter that the forum is focused on "what applicants should say they will do," adding that none of the speakers will identify themselves as opposed to government-sanctioned gambling, but instead as "neutral" on the topic.

"The Commission has a duty beyond that, to evaluate going forward the real impact of the licensees' proposals," said Shafer, who has been a critic of the decision to build four new casinos upstate. "This will require a formal epidemiological study of gambling behaviors in New York state."
http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2014-04-14-87572.113122-Albany-forum-looks-at-ways-to-prevent-problem-gambling.html
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