New Jersey, nation in need of war on gambling addiction

New Jersey, nation in need of war on gambling addiction

I am a compulsive gambler who has abstained for more than 44 years. A gambling addiction is an insidious disease, and many who have it are in denial of the destruction it can lead to, including bankruptcy, embezzlement, prison, home foreclosure, loss of family and friends, and sometimes suicide.

I have fought politicians for years to warn people of the potential addiction to gambling. Nothing has been done. The state promotes gambling because it brings in billions of dollars, yet not a penny is allocated toward helping the addicted.

Off-track betting parlors and slots at racetracks are coming, and now the state wants to legalize sports betting in Atlantic City.

Adults are not the only ones in jeopardy. The Council of Compulsive Gambling speaks at more than 60 New Jersey schools and 20 colleges each year at the request of staff in hopes of addressing serious problems with gambling by students.

The addiction rate for adolescent gambling is twice that of the adult population. A 17-year-old Montclair High School senior broke into a home and killed a widow because he needed $1,400 to pay his bookie. A Camden 11-year-old stabbed a schoolmate 10 times over a gambling debt. A Jersey City 16-year-old was shot to death over a debt from a dice game. According to CCG statistics, 32 percent of students gamble weekly, and 80 percent have gambled sometime during the year.

Internet gambling is easy once a person obtains a credit card.

The United States supposedly has a "war on drugs" and campaigns to combat alcoholism, but nothing is done to fight gambling addiction.

I hope readers will take the time to contact their representatives to see what they are doing about this addiction in our schools and our state.
Dominick Mogliaro
TOMS RIVER