Wisconsin: 338,000 Gambling Addicts

More than 300,000 Wis. People Have Gambling Addictions

New data shows 14,000 people called the Wisconsin gambling hot-line in 2010.

Experts said the first three months of the year can often be the most problematic when it comes to gambling addictions.

Al Heath, a recovering addict, quit using drugs and alcohol in 1979. Sometime in the decade that followed, he started spending a lot of time at the casinos and he eventually started forging checks to pay for his addiction to the slots.

"I ended up in prison and it took me about a year before I started really taking responsibility for that and taking a look at what was going on," Heath said.

Ed Ramsey is a gambling counselor and a member of the Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling. He said most addicts don't have a clue they're addicted because it's a hidden addiction. You can't smell the black jack table or the slot machine on them like you can alcohol, he added.

The WCPG said of the 14,000 people who called the hot-line last year, the average debt was almost $44,000.

Ramsey said, the time addicts figure there's a problem, they're showing up to repossess the house or all their retirements are gone.

Heath said if gambling starts affecting any part of your life your relationships, your finances, anything, you have a problem. However, no matter how far down you have gone, it is probably someone who has gone down that same path and can help you recover.

The WCPG estimates 338,000 people are compulsive or problem gamblers in Wisconsin.