Wristbands aim at raising problem gambling awareness

By Liz Benston (contact)

Tuesday, Aug. 2, 2005 | 11:18 a.m.

Starting this week, customers nationwide will notice employees at several major casinos wearing orange plastic wristbands of the type that have been used to raise money for various health-related charities.

The wristbands, which say "Keep it Fun," kick off the American Gaming Association's eighth-annual Responsible Gaming Education Week.

The trade group began the event as a way to encourage member casinos to publicize problem gambling among their employees.

This year is the first time the group has attempted to raise money from the public and created the wristbands to broaden the public's awareness of compulsive gambling as a mental health problem.

The wristbands are available for $1 each in several casino gift shops on the Strip and from the AGA's Web site. Many have been distributed to member casinos nationwide for employees to wear and also have been sent to state politicians and problem gambling treatment providers.

At least 130,000 of the wristbands had been sold nationwide as of Monday afternoon, while gift shops at several MGM Mirage resorts in Las Vegas had already sold out, casino officials said.

The goal of the program is to get people to wear and buy the wristbands long after the weeklong event is over and to engage in discussions about responsible gambling, AGA Chief Executive Frank Fahrenkopf said.

All of the money raised from the wristbands will go back to the National Center for Responsible Gaming, an AGA-created group that funds research on causes and treatment approaches to problem gambling.

The NCRG intends to distribute that money back to local community groups but hasn't yet decided who or what programs would be funded. Up for consideration are local health fairs, educating human resources departments at various companies and funding treatment programs.

Carol O'Hare, executive director of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, doesn't expect to see any of that money. Still, O'Hare said she supports the wristband effort because it can help reduce the social stigma associated with problem gambling and get people talking about it.

The Nevada Council runs the state's largest problem gambling hotline and refers gamblers for treatment.

The wristbands are a reminder that "gambling is supposed to be fun," O'Hare said. "If you don't know what it is supposed to be how do you know you have a problem?"

Robert Boswell, senior vice president of Pioneer Behavioral Health, said his company is witnessing a nationwide increase in the number of people seeking help for gambling problems, mainly because of public awareness campaigns.

The Boston-based company, which specializes in addiction counseling for alcohol and drug problems, runs two outpatient psychiatric clinics in Las Vegas through a local entity called Harmony Healthcare. The company has more recently added compulsive gambling to that list as insurance carriers have begun to cover treatment costs.

The company works with several major casino companies and other employers in town who refer employees for treatment.

Employees with gambling disorders typically enter treatment for other things like family problems, with gambling later emerging as a culprit, said Boswell, who is also a member of the NCRG's board of directors. While more people are coming in specifically for compulsive gambling treatment, as recently as three years ago it was rare for people to blame gambling as a source of their problems, Boswell said.

The wristbands "could be effective" if they are accompanied by a comprehensive education and treatment program, he said.

Robert Hunter, clinical director of the Problem Gambling Center in Las Vegas, said he supports the idea behind the wristbands and said they will "definitely" result in an increase in calls to helplines.

The Problem Gambling Center is the only public, nonprofit counseling clinic for gamblers in Las Vegas.

The problem is a lack of treatment options for people who hit rock bottom and need help, Hunter said.

People who want to help compulsive gamblers should be funding treatment centers in addition to increasing awareness of the problem, he said.

"We can't treat the number of people who call for help right now," he said. "Every time this issue hits the media, our phone rings off the hook."

The wristbands look similar to orange bands distributed by the American Cancer Society to promote smoke-free living.

AGA spokeswoman Holly Thomsen said the group wasn't aware of the American Cancer Society bands and went with orange because it's a color the group has used in brochures and other materials for years to promote responsible gambling.

AGA members oppose efforts to ban smoking in casinos, with some installing costly air filtration systems to appease customers.