New help for problem gamblers, new rules for casinos considered

Joe Stange

Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2000 | 10:51 a.m.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - Missouri would step up efforts to treat problem gamblers and add new restrictions for gambling boats under bills considered by Senate panels on Tuesday.

Under one bill, the state would send one penny to compulsive gambler programs for every $2-per-person boarding fee paid to enter a Missouri riverboat casino. That would raise about $400,000 a year for publicizing the programs.

The other bill would toughen penalties for lying on gambling license paperwork, and would slap new regulation on the appearances of the gaudiest casino boats. Neither bill received committee votes on Tuesday.

Sen. Harry Wiggins, D-Kansas City, told the Senate Ways and Means Committee that existing programs for problem gamblers need funding for publicity.

Lawmakers have earmarked about $660,000 for treatment programs and training counselors for problem gamblers.

Still, public awareness programs are essential for identifying and treating compulsive gamblers, Keith Spare of the Missouri Council on Problem Gambling Concerns told the committee.

"You can provide services, but if people don't come and they don't come back, you've got a poor system," Spare said.

Sen. Steve Ehlmann, R-St. Charles, offered his bill on new casino regulations to the Senate Local Government and Economic Development Committee.

The legislation would make it a felony to lie in a statement or application to the Missouri Gaming Commission, a crime punishable by up to five years in prison.

And in a jab at Missouri's most gaudy casinos, Ehlmann's bill would further regulate the appearance of gambling boats. Under current state law, the Gaming Commission requires the boats to have an appearance consistent with their host city or county's "riverboat history."

Ehlmann's bill specifies that "yellow and purple painted buildings, giant lighted spheres which sit atop towers and Christmas decorations in public view" do not qualify as consistent with any home dock's history.

That describes decor of some casino boats on the Missouri and Mississippi rivers.

"It seems like a lot of the casinos are being approved and there's very little historic about them," Ehlmann said.

The bill would also prohibit title lenders or small loan companies from setting up shop within five miles of a casino in Missouri.

Gambling bills are SB991 (Wiggins) and SB888 (Ehlmann).

Legislation is available on the Missouri General Assembly site on the Internet at the following address:

http://www.moga.state.mo.us/