State must not gamble with gambling addictions
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share thisFines against several casinos for allowing underage gamblers are fine only as far as they go. The enforcement actions by the state Gaming Control Board indicate that regulators are paying some attention to the issue, but they do nothing about the underlying problem.
Gambling is a rapidly growing addiction among young people. Internet sports betting and high-stakes poker games have become serious issues on college campuses. According to New York State's Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, nearly half of students between seventh and 12th grade in that state who have substance addictions also have gambling addictions.
And contrary to gambling proponents who contended that the Pennsylvania gambling industry would only return to the commonwealth some potential revenue that was being spent in other states, the proliferation of gambling also increases problem gambling.
In Connecticut, for example, a state study found that the gambling addiction gender gap has closed rapidly as casinos have flourished. Gambling addiction once affected mostly men, but no longer. Connecticut found that women were fewer than a third of problem gamblers as recently as 1999, but 44 percent in 2008. Unfortunately, that's not because there are fewer male addicts.
The problem is worse for young gamblers because of the same developmental factors that put them at risk for alcohol, drug and tobacco addiction. And, unfortunately, history shows that teenagers who develop gambling habits are at far higher risk to become problem gamblers later in life.
Individual enforcement actions, like the record $100,000 fine this week against the Mount Airy Casino Resort for allowing underage gambling and failing to report it as required, are important deterrents. Ideally, they will make casinos more vigilant. Mount Airy officials, for example, said that they have taken several steps to keep out underage gamblers.
Mount Airy's fine was for five incidents involving six underage gamblers. Last year the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs was fined $97,500 for 15 violations involving underage gamblers. Four other casinos also have been cited and fined.
State lawmakers have paid inadequate attention to the negative consequences of gambling ever since they authorized the industry and made the state government a partner in it. Now, with citations against casinos for underage gambling violations, they should do more than collect the fines.
They should vastly increase the amount of the state's casino take that goes to education against compulsive gambling and treatment to help the addicted. It's not a matter of enforcement and fines; it's a matter of saving lives.
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