Lawmakers say more needed to curb problem gambling

"The problem gambling is so bad that we're paying for kids to be in foster homes, people losing their homes – that the cost to the state already is more I think than what we would lose doing this," [Carolyn Tomei, D-Milwaukie] said.




Lawmakers say more needed to curb problem gambling
By Patrick Preston KATU News and KATU.com Staff

SALEM, Ore. - Two lawmakers say the Oregon Lottery Commission isn't doing enough to prevent problem gaming, and they want changes even if it costs the state lottery millions of dollars in profits.

Through House Bill 4083, Reps. Bill Kennemer, R-Oregon City, and Carolyn Tomei, D-Milwaukie, want the Lottery Commission to do more to balance its pursuit of profits with a moral responsibility to minimize the harm caused by lottery gambling.

Right now the state sets aside 1 percent of lottery profits for problem gambling prevention and treatment programs, which is more than $5 million a year. But the lottery only exists to make money for state programs and it does so in part because of gambling addicts who bet more than they can afford.

The lawmakers argue the Lottery Commission needs a comprehensive policy to protect problem gamblers, including a code of conduct for marketing and promoting the lottery.

"We're not asking them to eliminate the lottery or anything of that nature," said Michael Sketch, who had a gambling addiction. "We just want them to recognize that there are people out there who have a problem with gambling. They do not gamble like normal people. I am one of those people."

For Sketch, the compulsion to bet cost him far more than the $100,000 he gambled away.

"It cost me every significant relationship in my life, whether it be personal, family, employer, neighbors," he said.

He got help. He hasn’t bet in more than three years. Now he said he wants the Lottery Commission to do more to help others who fight the urge every day.

Tomei suggests slowing down the speed of games like video poker where players can deal the next hand faster than they can read all the cards. She also suggests having the machine ask every 20 minutes if players want to continue betting.

"The problem gambling is so bad that we're paying for kids to be in foster homes, people losing their homes – that the cost to the state already is more I think than what we would lose doing this," she said.

An Oregon Lottery spokesman said the commission does not take a position on legislation but does take steps to help problem gamblers get treatment, including posting a help line on lottery machines and in retail brochures.

The proposal doesn't ask for new money.

The call for a lottery code of conduct comes four months after Gov. John Kitzhaber ordered the lottery to get rid of its online ORcade, a website designed for adults that may have appealed to kids, too.