Almost a decade ago, at the time when the first legal casino in Western Pennsylvania – The Meadows – opened, warnings predicting the future increase of problem gambling behaviour were issued around the industry.
However, over the last annual conference of the CCGP, an abbreviation which stands for Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania, which took place in Pittsburgh a few days ago, no proof indicating an increase in gambling addictions in the region over the past ten years was presented.
The CCGP is a non-profit organisation which works in collaboration with the National Council on Problem Gambling. The organisation is focused on educating and distribute more information on problem gambling behaviour. At the meeting, the Group presented statistics about the number of gambling addicts who attend the meetings of Gamblers Anonymous and revealed that the number of people suffering from problem gambling behaviour is actually lower in comparison to their number 10 years ago, before casino gambling was made legal in the state of Pennsylvania.
What is more, according to a report presented by a representative of Gamblers Anonymous, there was also a decrease in the number of calls from compulsive gamblers looking for help received at the hotline of the state problem gambling council in the period from 2015 to 2016. The self-exclusion program available at the state also seems to be doing a great job, as individuals who recognised themselves as problem gamblers still preferred to add themselves to the self-exclusion list of the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board. According to the data presented in the report, approximately 1,500 players add their name to the list on an annual basis.
According to the region’s therapists, there has not been a sharp increase in the number of people who visited casino facilities more often since such venues became legal in the state, too.
Undoubtedly, compulsive gambling and gambling additions are some of the most serious problem, but the information presented by the Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania actually showed that problem gambling behaviour in fact affected a small percentage of individuals. The same opinion was expressed by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board’s director Elizabeth Lanza. Studies in a number of jurisdictions share his point of view, presenting continuous and consistent proof that the number of compulsive (pathological) players is currently in the 1% range, and the number of people included in the broader category of problem gamblers was higher by 2% to 3% percent.
Of course, the problem still exists. According to the reports presented, more than 1,420 calls for help were made to the Pennsylvania council’s gambling hotline over the last year. The calls were made by two major types of people – some who recognised themselves as compulsive gamblers and some who knew a player suffering from gambling addictions.
- Author
Daniel Williams
