The week of March 3 was designated as National Problem Gambling Awareness Week.
We live in a time of easily accessible gambling opportunities both legal and illegal. Indiana is like 47 other states in that some form of gambling is legal. Sports betting is illegal in Indiana, but readily available. People “play” the stock market, they just don’t think of it as gambling. The Hoosier Lottery started operating in 1989 and the first of our 13 casinos — two of which are also horse racing tracks — opened in 1995. Indiana also offers off-track betting parlors (OTBs), about 3,000 charitable gaming entities (bingo/pull tabs/raffles) and many bars with raffles/punch boards.
Illinois is in the process of adding to its number of casinos. Michigan has a Tribal Indian casino near our boarder. Ohio will soon have four casinos. Kentucky has been exploring the approval of casinos and electronic gaming at its horse racing tracks. All of these states have lotteries.
In Indiana, the gaming industry has historically provided billions of dollars in revenue to the state and local governments for the benefit of Hoosier citizens. Recently, the Hoosier Lottery entered into a contract with an integrated services provider. The agreement will not only see the state’s general fund realize an additional $500 million of revenue over the next five years, but will also deepen the Hoosier Lottery’s commitment to and implementation of programs focused on social responsibility. Similarly, the casinos continue to help revitalize the communities in which they are based — and all of this at a time when competition for these dollars is increasing.
Now, the Indiana General Assembly is considering legislation that would add table games at our two horse racing tracks. However, also being considered is a $1 million cut in funding for the Indiana Problem Gamblers Fund. This fund currently receives slightly more than $5 million each year, but only $2 million is currently being spent on problem gambling initiatives. The other $3 million is diverted to greatly under-funded alcohol/drug treatment efforts.
The Problem Gamblers Fund’s dollars currently underwrite treatment for problem gamblers and their families, funds the Voluntary Casino Exclusion Program (VEP), trains those providing counseling to problem gamblers and supports afterschool addiction prevention efforts in some schools. The Indiana Council on Problem Gambling received $36,000 this year from these dollars for specific problem gambling activities.
Decreasing dollars that help repair the damage that problem gamblers do to themselves and their families at a time when we are expanding our efforts to increase gaming revenues makes no sense.
The Indiana Council on Problem Gambling (ICPG) works to ensure that resources and efforts to help those impacted by the negative consequences of gambling are available to the 3 percent of gamblers who will develop a gambling addiction. The ICPG maintains a neutral position on legalized gambling; we neither oppose it nor support it. We work with the problem gamblers and their families, Gamblers Anonymous, Gam-Anon, treatment providers, state government, the Hoosier Lottery, the casino properties and all others who seek to help those who have a gambling addiction.
The ICPG can be reached at: (866) 699-4274 and can be found at www.indianaproblemgambling.org. The Indiana Problem Gambling Help line is available 24/7/365 at: 800-994-8448.
For more information about problem gambling, please visit www.npgaw.org.
— Jerry L. Long
Executive Director
Indiana Council on Problem Gambling
Indianapolis
Opinion
FLASHPOINT: Problem gambling in Indiana: A new understanding of community concern
- Opinion
-
-
MS. TAKES: Smell of fresh air gave way to dryers
Remember when clean clothes smelled like fresh air and sunshine rather than fabric softener and dryer sheets?
-
READERS' FORUM: May 20, 2013
The dangers of a little knowledge
Students enjoyed Rose study trip
-
Mark Bennett: High-profile mural connects historical dots from city to river
At 96 feet wide and 2 stories tall, the power, impact and value of the Wabash will be evident.
-
EDITORIAL: Waging the ‘readiness’ campaign
Almost every Hoosier who starts college intends to finish. Unfortunately, those who arrive on campus unprepared in key academic areas are far less likely to fulfill that aspiration.
-
READERS' FORUM: May 19, 2013
• Flawed reasoning on gun checks
• A hint of things yet to come?
• Are the ‘makers’ doing the ‘taking’?
• The ‘Obamination’ is finally revealed
• Pondering effects of Obamacare
• Fantasizing on the ‘Apocalypse’
• Another view of Hinduism
• Great experience for HCMS students
-
FLASHPOINT: A legislative session of missed opportunities
Given the nature of politicians, grand claims of accomplishments and overblown rhetoric about “historic” efforts are to be expected at the close of any legislative session.
-
RONN MOTT: Mushrooms = Hoosier happiness
Someone wrote or said a few years ago a statement that would define the word “Hoosier.” According to this urban legend, a Hoosier is somebody dribbling a basketball around the Indy 500 while eating a fried, morel mushroom. It did not define me, at the time.
-
EDITORIAL: Insult to an independent press
Distrust of government secrecy has been elevated to an exceptional level with the disclosure the Justice Department covertly examined two months of Associated Press phone records to determine who leaked details to the AP about a foiled terrorist plot.
-
READERS' FORUM: May 17, 2013
Hinduism doesn’t deserve ridicule — Shefali Purohit, Terre Haute
-
RONN MOTT: Israel’s Air Force
Recently the Israeli Air Force bombed and rocketed a convoy leaving Syria going to Lebanon with rockets that were going to be used to attack Israel. It did not get there. It was destroyed.
-
EDITORIAL: Noteworthy in the news: Dashing finish for the Sycamores
It’s always thrilling to see Indiana State University’s athletic teams do well in high-level competition, and two specific teams rose to impressive heights last weekend in the Missouri Valley Conference outdoor track and field championships.
-
Readers' Forum: May 16, 2013
Moving Deming folks sounds ‘nuts’
-
Readers' Forum: May 15, 2013
Participants rise to the challenge: I would like to write a letter congratulating all the Wabash Valley Roadrunners that competed in the One America Indianapolis Mini Marathon.
-
RONN MOTT: Media merry-go-round
Round and round it goes, where it stops nobody knows. That isn’t a unique phrase to this writer or to this era in time. But, when it comes to the musical chairs of broadcasting, it certainly applies.
-
LIZ CIANCONE: Courts see a different appearance than cops
Have you ever noticed the transformation between the arrest of an accused lawbreaker and the first appearance in court?
-
READERS' FORUM: May 14, 2013
ISTEP failure exposes flaws
Community hasn’t changed its spirit
Egregious threat to nation’s defense
-
READERS' FORUM: May 13, 2013
• Women’s group criticizes Bucshon
• Let’s hope this doesn’t come true
• Many get thanks for fest success
-
MARK BENNETT: Life at face value: Mom’s simple advice still presents a valuable daily challenge
Most moms don’t base their advice on scientific research.
(Unless, of course, your mother is a scientific researcher. If so, carry a No. 2 pencil and take good notes.) -
EDITORIAL: Better monitoring needed to prevent local environmental messes
The nasty, hazardous messes lurking in the community raise a bottom-line, red-flag question. Could these environmental problems have been monitored and, thus, prevented?
-
GUEST COLUMN: Nursing more than medicine and bandages
Being a nurse … Like most nurses, I chose this profession because I had a strong desire to help others and no other career would allow me the opportunity to touch lives the way I have been able to through nursing.
-
READERS' FORUM: May 12, 2013
Vigo Youth Football, entering 45th year, seeks new support
Media ignoring important case on abortions
Proud to be old-fashioned
Guns in school? What’s next?
Promoting hate not a ‘brave’ act
-
FLASHPOINT: Again in 2013 General Assembly, middle class generally ignored
Last year, the people of Indiana entrusted the Republican Party with some of their most precious possessions.
-
RONN MOTT: ‘Raccoons II’
In the Algonquin Indian language, raccoon means “working with hands.” They are really cute little fellows until they injure a child, or a pet, or leave feces around where you certainly do not want it.
-
Readers’ Forum: May 11, 2013
I just wanted to express my disappointment at the lack of response shown by President Obama after the Boston Marathon bombings.
-
Readers' Forum: May 10, 2013
CANDLES event plants new seed: On April 26, CANDLES Holocaust Museum and Education Center hosted an event called “Sowing Seeds of Peace: A Celebration of Spring” at the Apple House. Our purpose was to introduce people to our concept of forgiveness as a seed for peace.
-
RONN MOTT: ‘NRA Convention’
At the recent NRA Convention in Houston, Texas, where the right-wing political hot air almost lifted the convention's building off its foundation, the NRA trotted out the forever yours political dame of the right wing, Sarah Palin. Sarah did not disappoint.
-
EDITORIAL: Memo to U.S.A.: You can ‘SPPRAK’ just as we do in Vigo County
Our kids, truly, are ‘Making a Difference’
-
Some words in praise of boring government — Indiana’s
A conservative Republican governor has super majorities in both branches of the legislature. One might suspect such one-party government leads to major changes in public policy. This did not happen in 2013 in Indiana.
-
EDITORIAL: Doc’s prescient prescription
Viewed through a 2013 prism, Doc Bowen’s response to the AIDS epidemic looks merely prudent, routine.
-
RONN MOTT: ‘Heritage gone’
The last high school I attended was being torn down just a few days ago. I didn't learn about it until I saw classmate Dick Mills on television and a display he had put together about State football championships in the middle 1930's. I began elementary school with Dick Mills. That was Matthew South Elementary School on South Sixth Street in Clinton, Indiana. After seeing Dick on TV, it dawned on me that all schools I had attended in Clinton have been torn down.
- More Opinion Headlines
-
MS. TAKES: Smell of fresh air gave way to dryers
Raw: Tornado on the Ground in Oklahoma
Raw: Aftermath of Massive Tornado in Oklahoma
Raw: Fierce Bombing in Qusair, Syria
Raw: House Burns After Massive Oklahoma Tornado
Raw: Rescue Workers Search Oklahoma School
RAW: TV Staff Take Cover From Tornado
Raw: Swarm of Tornadoes Slams Plains
Split-second Choice Ended With NY Student Dead
Raw: Witness Describes Scene After Okla. Tornado
White House Backs 'Shield Law' for Media
Raw: Walking in a Flattened Okla. Neighborhood
Tornadoes, Storms Strike Midwest
Raw: Suspects Butt Dial 911, Lead to Arrest
Raw: Okla. Tornado Aftermath 'Like War Zone'
Commuters Face Delays After Conn. Train Accident
'Babyland': Camp Lejeune's Toxic Legacy?
Raw: Accused US Spy Reportedly Leaves Russia
Fatal Hot Air Balloon Accident in Turkey
Raw: Heavy Tornado Damage in Shawnee, Okla
Analyst: Tumblr Fills Void in Yahoo's Offerings
RAW: Moore, OK tornado touches down near school
Okla. tornado survivor finds dog buried alive under rubble
Robert Pattinson Moves Out
RAW: Russian dash cam catches car 20 feet in the air
Oklahoma tornado survivor: "Everything is gone"
Khloe Lashes Out at Kim Kardashian's Critics
Couple Argues As Woman's Lover Crawls Out Window
RAW: Brad Paisley Forgets Lyrics To His Own Song
Justin Bieber Gets Booed
New 'Anchorman 2' Trailer, Drake Joins List of Rumored Cameos
Eva Longoria's Wardrobe Malfunction
Heat Star Dwyane Wade Surprises Coral Gables Teen At Prom
Steak n' Shake waitress scores huge tip
Singer Miguel Accidentally Lands on Fan At Billboard Music Awards
Celebs Celebrate the Rise of the Side Butt
Grizzly bear gets up close and personal with camera
Justin Bieber Gets Booed After Winning at the Billboard Awards
Singer forgets lyrics, makes up words to National Anthem
