Council gathers data on gambling addicts

Thursday, Jan. 11, 2001 | 9:04 a.m.

Problem gamblers are also part of a group that is barely researched, scarcely understood and a problem that casino operators are only now beginning to recognize.

Problem gamblers were the focus Wednesday of a daylong conference in Albuquerque. Experts agreed that 1 percent to 4 percent of Americans have some degree of a gambling addiction or disorder.

Symptoms include a preoccupation with gambling, lying to cover up gambling, the inability to resist the urge to gamble and gambling to recoup losses.

Nationwide, problem or pathological gamblers are usually middle-aged men, experts said.

In New Mexico, the profile is different, according to statistics kept on telephone calls for help to the Council on Problem Gambling.

During the third quarter of last year, 61 percent of the 207 people that called complaining of addiction problems were women, while 54 percent of the callers were Hispanic. Also, nearly 90 percent were over the age of 41.

Council clinic director Kandace Blanchard said those numbers are representative of calls the hot line gets throughout the year.

Blanchard said calls were up 19 percent this summer over last summer and shot up even more in December.

About one-fourth of the callers talked about having suicidal thoughts, Blanchard said, and the average gambling-related debt they reported was about $25,000.

The council doesn't know whether its numbers, which include only people who have acknowledged a problem and are seeking help, are different from the entire New Mexico population of problem gamblers.

Janice McCrary, chairwoman of the state Gaming Control Board, said Wednesday's conference was a recognition that with 11 tribal casinos, four horse tracks with casinos and a state lottery, a certain number of New Mexicans suffer from gambling addictions.

"This isn't to debate pro or con at all," she said. "It's to see whether we can all put our heads together to deal with the problems."

McCrary said she hopes people attending the conference will share information and resources and form an alliance to strengthen prevention and treatment efforts statewide.

The conference was sponsored by the Gaming Control Board, which administers state gambling laws. It brought together about 150 researchers, psychologists, credit counselors, casino workers and law enforcement officers.