Gambling Addiction

1128 Words3 Pages

Gambling Addiction Gambling addiction is an issue found in numerous areas where gambling is legal. People who are addicted to gambling, also know as problem gamblers, face many health risks including depression, suicidal thoughts, loss of sleep, loss of appetite, migraine and anxiety in addition to marriage breakdown, problems at work and bankruptcy (9). About 2 percent of adults are thought to be problem gamblers (1). In today’s society this costly addiction is not often considered to be a common problem among those who gamble. Only a small amount of states in the U.S. give enough attention toward this rising problem of people that are sometimes even willing to commit crimes just to aid their addiction. In the past our government has sought out a few solutions that help those who have developed an addiction and prevent a further increase in the number of people becoming addicted. Personally, my outlook on the problem is that it needs a better solution. I think that a higher funding to gambling addiction clinics, more ordinance and restriction laws, and more prevention and awareness programs should bee brought into consideration in order to lower the amount of people who become addict to gambling. Providing higher funds to gambling addiction clinics is one solution to the problem of gambling addiction. Clinics are important because they offer services to addicted people to help them get over their addiction. Six months after clinical treatment, 80 percent of people say they either don’t gamble or gamble much less (1). Sufficient amounts of free clinics is the key to decreasing the number of problem gamblers. “For the first time, we don’t have enough money to meet the growing demand of free clinics,” said Jeffrey Marotta, a clinical psychologists who manages problem gambling services for the Oregon Department of Human Services (1). In Washington, a state-funded treatment program for problem gamblers was started in 2002, but it ran out of money the next year (1). It is obvious that same states have a need for more clinics. Providing higher funding to create more clinics is the issue. So, where do we get the money needed to provide free clinics? I think it should come straight from the source of the problem. States that have legalized gambling use gambling as a way to generate additional revenue through fees and taxes (6). The extra r... ... middle of paper ... ...ddiction will lower the overall gambling addiction rate. Gambling addiction programs are not free. I think the money to run these programs should come from the same source as I think the money for the addiction clinics should come from. The additional revenue that states get from legalized gambling should go to providing a solution for all the problems gambling brings before going to help other economic problems. I think that if the three solutions I provided are carried out, it will make a great impact on the rising gambling addiction rate. Spending extra revenue from states that have legalized gambling to fund enough addiction clinics and programs to meet each state’s need is the first step toward decreasing addiction rates. The second step is voting to pass more ordinance and restriction laws so the gambling industry will not expand out of control and children will not have easy access to gambling machines. I think if “we” as a community work together toward getting our state government to adopt the ideas in the solutions I provided, we can set an example for other communities and in the future lower addiction rates instead of quietly allowing them to increase.

Open Document