Editorial: Treating problem gamblers

Friday, June 8, 2007 | 7:17 a.m.

N evada's first assessment of treatment programs for problem gamblers shows that state-funded programs have been effective in helping those gamblers stop, which also helped most to recover financially and emotionally.

According to a story by the Las Vegas Sun on Tuesday, the research also suggests that some gamblers who kicked the wagering habit gained control over other compulsive activities, such as eating and shopping.

The treatment and research were funded through a $2.5 million state grant - awarded in 2005 and raised through a $2-per-slot machine fee - that funneled $1.4 million directly into treatment through nine existing Nevada programs. The remaining $1.1 million paid for public education, training programs for gambling counselors and research to see whether treatment works.

Robert Hunter, clinical director of the nonprofit Problem Gambling Center in Las Vegas, told Sun reporter Liz Benston that the study supports "what we've known for a long time," and that it "makes sense on a humanitarian level to do something about this rather than pretend that (problem gamblers) don't exist."

In follow-up interviews with 75 of 531 people who received treatment under the 2005 programs, researchers found that 81 percent of those counseled said treatment helped them regain control of their lives and 73 percent said their personal relationships had improved or had been reestablished. About 67 percent said their financial situations were better, the Sun reports, and 84 percent said they spent less time thinking about gambling.

The success of the first two-year grant prompted the Nevada Legislature last week to continue funding the grant program indefinitely.

Gambling is one of the activities most often associated with Nevada, but problem gambling is one aspect of the popular pastime that rarely is addressed seriously.

It only makes sense that as a state that has gained so much economic growth from the gaming industry, Nevada should be a leader in finding ways to help people for whom gambling becomes an addiction, rather than a game.