Treatment officials meet, search for solutions

Friday, June 23, 2000 | 10:54 a.m.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOSTON -- With casinos, lotteries, racetracks and now, betting on the Internet, addiction treatment experts say it is easier than ever to get sucked into gambling.

How to cope with society's increasing gambling opportunities is the subject of a nationwide conference in Boston, where officials from addiction treatment programs in 13 states are gathering to compare notes.

"It really isn't known what the state of gambling treatment throughout the country is. Nobody can tell you what it looks like, tastes like, smells like, feels like," said Kathleen Scanlan, executive director of the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling.

Scanlan, whose organization provides education, information, advocacy and referral to treatment, said state-funded gambling treatment is offered at 17 locations around Massachusetts.

Gambling addiction specialists are concerned about the rise of gambling opportunities, not only through the expansion of traditional venues such as lotteries, casinos and racetracks, but also through new Internet gambling sites.

Some experts estimate that at least 5 million Americans have experienced negative impacts from problem gambling.