Editorial: Ks. can't forget addicted gamblers

Posted as a comment in response to this article:

It's like opening a crack house and asking the crackheads to call this 800 number if they need help. Why do we create a problem and try to fix it by creating more problems? No casino= no addicts=problem solved. Simple.

Pretty simple!


Editorial: Ks. can't forget addicted gamblers
By The Capital-Journal Editorial Advisory Board
Gambling in Kansas is becoming much more convenient, which means becoming addicted to the action offered by casinos also is becoming more convenient.

That makes the state’s use of money that was to be dedicated to treating problem gamblers troubling, to say the least.

State law stipulates that 2 percent of the state’s revenue from gambling is to go into a fund for treatment of problem gamblers and people with equally debilitating addictions. But of $3 million expected to be generated for the Problem Gambling and Addictions Grant Fund during the current fiscal year from casinos and the lottery gambling, only $717,000 has been earmarked for that cause.

The state has diverted to Medicaid $1.3 million of the revenue that is supposed to go to the grant fund, and $900,000 is being used to fill a hole elsewhere in the state budget.

Clearly, the money isn’t being used for its intended purpose.

That must change.

Kansas officials decided the state should get into the gambling business and take a share of the profits. Now the state must fulfill its promise to help those who become incapable of pulling themselves away from the slot machines and gaming tables.

Granted, the state has financial needs and Medicaid is one of the state’s most expensive programs. But problem gamblers are a growing population and the money allocated to help them shouldn’t be so readily diverted.

The Problem Gambling Coalition reports that since the state casino in Sumner County’s recent opening, calls to the statewide problem gambling hotline have doubled. The hotline received 526 calls in November and 993 in December.

A new casino in Wyandotte County will open soon, and the coalition expects a further spike in gambling addiction. That spike will only increase the existing need for more treatment of problem gamblers.

News reports show that in the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2011, the state spent only about $8,000 on one-on-one gambling treatment.

That isn’t going to cut it.

The state made its first foray into gambling in the 1980s when Kansans approved, all in the same year, open saloons, pari-mutuel wagering at horse and greyhound race tracks, and the lottery.

Consequently, casino gambling appeared in Missouri and Kansas was required to negotiate with its American Indian tribes to allow reservation casinos. Tribal casinos also opened in Oklahoma. The horse and dog racing tracks couldn’t compete with the casinos and all are closed now.

But Kansas, during former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius’ administration, decided to get into the casino game by allowing four destination casinos in different areas of the state. Two of those casinos are open, one in Dodge City and one in Sumner County, and one in Wyandotte County is close to opening.

The law allows a fourth casino in southeast Kansas, but it doesn’t appear one will be built there anytime soon.

Some Kansans view the casinos as entertainment and risk only a predetermined amount. Wealthy gamblers may risk more, but most also have an established threshold for losses. Many people, however, can’t step away from the action. They are the gambling addicts that often risk everything they have.

Now that Kansas has made casino gambling convenient, it must make treatment much more convenient.

Members of The Capital-Journal Editorial Board are Gregg Ireland, Mike Hall, Fred Johnson, Ray Beers Jr., Garry Cushinberry, Joyce Martin, John Stauffer, Frank Ybarra and Sally Zellers.

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