California's response to expanded gambling provides a cautionary tale for Kansas
The Capital-Journal Editorial Board
Published Thursday, January 03, 2008
More gambling is coming to Kansas, which means more problem gambling likely won't be far behind.
How best to handle the increase in addiction?
That's a question that could be answered in a lot of ways, but state decision-makers and officials can look to California for lessons on how not to prepare.
At the same time, Kansans might also get a reminder about the importance of getting adequate addiction programs ready.
The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported that since 2000, when Californians approved a proposition to allow Las Vegas-style gambling on American Indian lands in the state, the number of gambling addicts in California has skyrocketed by an estimated 300,000 people.
That estimate, based on figures from the state attorney general's office and a council on problem gambling, lists the current number of problem gamblers in the state at 1.2 million.
Will Kansas see an increase of that scope? Don't bet on it.
California is home to 57 Indian casinos, after all, while Kansas supports a handful of gambling operations on tribal land and is in the process of adding no more than four state-owned casinos to the mix.
But on an individual level, problem gambling doesn't necessarily differ much from state to state. Crime, lost work time, suicide and a long list of other problems are costing Californians an estimated $1 billion a year, and many of the same kinds of ills have already been reported in Kansas.
Addiction counselors in Kansas have been saying it's highly likely the state will see more of the same as new casinos pop up. A news report earlier this year said researchers at the University of Buffalo found that people living within 10 miles of a casino were about twice as likely to develop gambling problems as those living farther away.
Where Kansas can learn from California is in allocation of resources for problem gambling.
The Golden State devotes a shamefully small amount of its gaming fees to gambling addiction — just $3 million, according to the Chronicle. And that money goes to a state office aimed at preventing addiction, not treating it.
The situation is being aggravated by a scarce amount of private professional counseling in California, the newspaper said. With a vote scheduled in February over whether to further expand gambling in California, it's a disturbing situation.
In Kansas, things don't look quite as bleak. In the legislation that allowed for construction of state-owned casinos near Kansas City, Kan., Wichita, Dodge City and Pittsburg, lawmakers had enough forethought to include a provision calling for 2 percent of casino revenue to go toward addiction prevention, treatment and education programs.
That legislative tool could provide up to $18 million a year to battle problem gambling.
It was a responsible approach, but one that was long overdue. The state had been directing $100,000 into a problem gambling fund in recent years, not nearly enough to fund adequate programs.
Here's hoping the Legislature continues to recognize the need for more funding.
As California is showing, gambling addiction won't take care of itself. |
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