Oregon struggles with rise in compulsive women gamblers

Brad Cain

Monday, March 21, 2005 | 11:20 a.m.

SALEM, Ore. -- Maryann started gambling 10 years ago, playing video poker machines in hotels and restaurants in Oregon as she traveled for her job.

"It got so any place I would see a lottery sign and that was a restaurant or other place that was comfortable, I would play," says the woman, who is in her 40s.

She lost a bundle of money within 18 months, went into a treatment program, came out, and stayed away from gambling for six years. Unable to resist the allure, she resumed video gambling for more than a year -- and doubled her previous losses.

Maryann, who doesn't want her last name used, is back in treatment, and hasn't gambled since June 2003. She's jobless, and trying to rebuild her life.

She is among a growing number of Oregon women who are getting hooked on gambling.

A state agency that tracks gambling addiction says compulsive women gamblers in Oregon outnumber compulsive male gamblers 32,000 to 29,000, an estimate based on results of a statewide survey.

Nationwide, men make up two-thirds of problem gamblers.

Oregon is different, officials say, because of the pervasiveness and ready availability of video gambling.

You don't have to go to a casino to gamble in Oregon. You can do it at a bowling alley, a neighborhood deli or a restaurant, bar or tavern. Retail establishments must have a liquor license to have video poker, and each outlet is allowed to have up to six video terminals.

"More women are gambling, developing gambling problems, and need to seek help," says Jeffrey Marotta, a clinical psychologist who manages problem gambling services for the state Department of Human Services.

Oregon is one of only five states that have lottery-sponsored video gambling.

There are 10,300 state-owned video gambling machines scattered across the state, in 2,000 retail establishments.

The state also has nine tribal casinos.

Most Oregonians play video poker and the slots without getting addicted. The state estimates that about 2.4 percent of adult Oregonians who gamble are either addicted to it or prone to addiction.

Still, the number of gamblers in state addiction treatment programs grows about 15 percent a year, state officials say.

A gambling addiction can break up marriages, destroy careers and send a gambler into bankruptcy.

Another example is Michelle, who also didn't want her name used and is also in a treatment program.

Michelle first got hooked on video gambling playing the slots at Spirit Mountain Casino, which is owned and operated by the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde.

She fed her addiction by spending hour after hour at video poker terminals in Salem retail outlets.

"I've spent thousands of dollars on video poker, and it's devastated me emotionally and financially," she says.

A Massachusetts researcher who has conducted various studies of gambling and problem gambling said she's not surprised by the Oregon figures showing that compulsive women gamblers outnumber men.

Rachel Volberg said video gambling machines have particular appeal to women.

"The games are a lot less intimidating for women to play," Volberg said. "You don't have to sit at a card table and have men making jokes about 'the little woman learning how to gamble.' "

Bonnie Knapp, a gambling addiction counselor in Salem, said she's seeing far more women with problems than she did just a few years ago.

Most have gotten hooked on the Oregon Lottery's video poker games, Knapp said.

"It's a great escape for them," Knapp said. "Once they start playing, it's just them and the machine. They are just zoning out. It blocks any feelings of being bored, lonely or overwhelmed by life."

Marotta and other gambling addiction officials believe Oregon may soon see more women with gambling problems.