Funding conflict cited on Connecticut problem gambling conference

By Joe Amarante, New Haven Register

Posted: 10/29/13

 

NEW HAVEN >> In a state with two huge casinos, an aggressive lottery and neighboring states boosting their gambling options every year, today’s annual Problem Gambling Forum at the Omni Hotel has a wealth of material to explore. It’s a “lock,” as gamblers say.

But there are no sure bets in gambling, and this 10th annual conference of the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling is being criticized because four-fifths of CCPG’s funding comes from the state’s casinos.The forum’s agenda? Jeffrey Marotta of Oregon Health and Sciences University, a researcher, clinical psychologist and president of Problem Gambling Solutions, will deliver the keynote speech. And panels will explore veterans’ treatment, prevention in diverse populations and changes in the fifth edition of the “psychiatric bible,” the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

But a former lottery retailer, recovering gambler and ex-CCPG volunteer Adam Osmond of Farmington says the council’s efforts are half-hearted and window dressing, and he plans to be protesting out front of the Omni this morning.

“I know they (at the CCPG) have a good heart, but if someone funds you directly, it’s so they can control the message,” he said, equating it to cigarette producers running an anti-smoking campaign.

 

Osmond, 46, has been a thorn in the side of lottery officials since he started linking lottery winners to heavy gambling and some crimes. He created an online database of winners from the past 14 years at www.ctlotterywinners.org based on information he’s been able to collect via Freedom of Information requests. And then he matched data from other sources, such as the IRS or the news media, to draw conclusions about lottery players — that heavy players include minorities, the poor and convenience store owners.

Osmond’s data-gathering and a 2011 online post about the date of a lottery board meeting led the lottery to call the police on him, he said.

“The reason I built the database is to show the public that there are lots of social costs associated with gambling. ... Usually if someone wins big, or the lottery hits a new (record) jackpot, it will be all over the news, but for every winner, there are lots of people who lost everything, and in most cases, the dark side of gambling is rarely covered.”

Osmond plans to bring thousands of dollars in old lottery tickets with him today.

Osmond, who will be featured in a cable TV documentary in a few months on gambling addiction called “Out of Luck,” says there’s a glimpse of the future in his database of frequent winners.

“The database that I collected, which contains the last 15 years of CT Lottery winners, can even predict the connection between those who play the lottery a lot, and crimes. In this database, one can be lucky and win once, but (a person winning) multiple times means he or she plays a lot.”

Mary Drexler, executive director of CCPG, knows all about problem gamblers. But she disagrees that CCPG is “afraid to talk because of the gaming industry.”

“I don’t take pot shots at anybody,” said Drexler, “whether they’re the gaming industry or someone in the nonprofit sector. But when push comes to shove, when I’m advocating for the problem gambler and their families, I lay it down and say ‘this is not in the best interest of Connecticut citizens.’”

She said the council is effective in advocacy efforts for gamblers and their families.“We have always said we’re neutral on the issue of legalized gambling. ... What that means, in essence, is we want to work with the gaming industry to promote responsible gambling practices, and be a part of what they decide are responsible gambling practices.”

That includes working with casino workers to spot problem gambling and to avoid it themselves.

“It is both FOR the employees and there’s a segment on what they might want to look if they’re at a gaming table... or out on the slots floor,” Drexler said. “Also, many of them now carry a pocket card with our helpline number on it.”

Drexler, a certified crisis worker and an expert on suicidology, has spoken out against the state’s 11th hour adoption of keno recently, and the council wants signs on every table where it’s offered, saying keno is not legal for children under 18 and providing a helpline number.

Drexler sits on the responsible gambling committees for both casinos, meanwhile. So she has to toe “a very fine line.”

“It’s very difficult,” she said, “because we try and help people in recovery and also advocate for those gamblers who aren’t quite yet in treatment. ... We agree to disagree, myself and the gambling industry.”

She said she has come out against expanding gambling in the state. On keno, “we would have spoken if there had been public testimony about our concern for it being out there in restaurants.”

But the funding is the council’s lifeblood, and Osmond quotes Upton Sinclair saying, “’It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends on his not understanding it.”

Drexler said the group is up-front and honest about funding.

“It’s been very difficult, but we do get most of our funding from the two casinos and a fifth of our funding from the state,” Drexler said. “It would be wonderful ... if we could get all of our funding from the (state’s) general fund. ... It has not happened.”

Drexler said with expansion to keno and proposed video terminals at other locations that resemble slot machines, “we are looking at: why aren’t we getting more state dollars?”

She said CCPG will be testifying in December on concerns over the proposed “video lottery terminals” at off-track betting sites, including New Haven and Bridgeport.

The funding, imperfect as it is, allows CCPG to be there to scrutinize such plans, she said.

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About the Author

Joe has been the TV editor, features writer, columnist, general assignment reporter and copy editor for some 35 years in New Haven, first with the Journal-Courier and then the New Haven Register. Follow Joe on Twitter: @joeammo.

http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20131029/funding-conflict-cited-on-connecticut-problem-gambling-conference