Editorial: Problem gambling study needs boost

Friday, June 25, 1999 | 10:31 a.m.

In September the state of Nevada announced it would fund an independent study of problem gambling. Some scoffed, suggesting it was timed to appease a national gambling commission in the middle of its investigation. The state's problem-gambling study was supposed to be finished before the 1999 Legislature ended in May, but the Sun reported Wednesday that the state is behind schedule and that a research team might not be hired until later this year.

Charlotte Crawford, director of the state Department of Human Resources, said a committee of representatives from the gaming industry, gaming regulators and problem-gambling treatment advocates believed it was best not to rush the study, instead opting to start the process after the 1999 Legislature ended. It can get busy during a legislative session, but the problem gambling study certainly should be further along than it is now.

archive