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To the Editor:
Please find attached in both PDF and Word formats a media advisory from the Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling (KYCPG) on Problem Gambling Awareness Month (PGAM) for March 2024.
Please feel free to use the advisory in whole or in part, or consider elements of the advisory as background for reporting or features. Please feel free to contact KYCPG Executive Director Mike Stone (kmstone1951@gmail.com, 502-682-6204) for more information of if there are any questions about the media advisory or other issues related to problem gambling.
Thank you for your consideration.
March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month (PGAM) in Kentucky and across the United States. The Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling (KYCPG) presents its signature event, the 27th Annual Educational and Awareness Conference March 7-8 in Owensboro to highlight awareness of problem and disordered gambling.
Problem and disordered gambling gained more awareness across the Commonwealth since the start of legal spots betting in September 2023. The legislation allowing sports betting also authorized establishing a Problem Gambling Assistant Program funded by 2.5 percent of the taxes the state receives from sports gambling.
With expansion of gambling in Kentucky with sports betting, participation is greater than estimated when the legislation passed the Kentucky General Assembly and was approved by Gov. Andy Beshear. Calls, texts and chats with the trained counselors who answer 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) increased significantly in the last quarter of 2023. They remain higher than before legal sport betting.
That does not mean there are more Kentuckians with a gambling problem or addiction. It does indicate more individuals are questioning their gambling practices and seeking answers and information.
“The number of disordered and problem gamblers in Kentucky likely is the same now as it was before, it’s just there is more awareness that gambling can be addictive and that people can get help if they suspect a problem,” KYCPG Executive Director Michael R. Stone said. “In the past year or so, advertising of responsible gambling practices and the 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) helpline is more widespread in television advertising, on gambling apps, and at gambling facilities. There has been a lot of pubic awareness due to the reporting on the sports betting legislation and its start-up.
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“This all serves to spur to the surface those who may be impacted and who are wondering whether there may be a problem. They were there all along, but now there is less stigma and shame knowing their problem is shared by others; that it is a medical/mental health issue and not a moral failing to hide.”
The state Problem Gambling Assistance Program (The name may change when it is established.) will support education, awareness, prevention and counseling treatment statewide administered by the Kentucky Department of Behavioral Health, Developmental and Intellectual Disabilities (DBHDID) Division of Behavioral Health. The program not only will serve problem and disordered gamblers who bet on sports, but also those who gamble with Kentucky’s other legal gambling: the lottery, including KENO; horse racing, including simulcasting and Historical Horse Racing; and charitable gaming, including electronic pulltabs.
Kentucky government receives more than $300 million in taxes, fees and transfer payments each year from the more than $2 billion annually gambled legally in Kentucky. Surveys indicate there are 47,000-64,000 disordered gamblers in Kentucky, and 102,000-165,000 problem gamblers. Based on academic research, Kentucky’s disordered gamblers cost the state at least $430 million in combined social costs from social service costs, unemployment insurance, crime and criminal justice costs, bankruptcy, lost productivity and other contributing items.
The American Psychiatric Association classifies disordered gambling as an addiction in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. Problem and disordered gambling are characterized by continuing to gamble in spite of serious, negative consequence. The U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration reports disordered gamblers have the highest suicide rate among all the addictive disorders.
KYCPG schedules its signature event during PGAM. The 27th Annual Educational and Awareness Conference will be held at the Owensboro Convention Center March 7-9. Dr. Jon Grant, a professor and researcher at the University of Chicago will keynote the conference, which will also feature a presentation by a panel of recovering gamblers. The program presentations include addressing suicide ideology, electronic video gaming and its relationship to gambling, the prevalence of gambling in Kentucky, case studies, and a preview of the state Problem Gambler Assistance Program. The pubic is welcome, and the conference will be live streamed statewide, registration required.
March 12 is Gambling Disorder Screening Day in the Unites States. Medical and Mental Health providers are urged to screen all individuals at intake for problem gambling. A document providing information on Gambling Disorder Screening Day is available from KYCPG by e-mailing kmstone1951@gmail.com.
A three-question self-test is an effective screen for problem gambling. Developed by the Cambridge Health Alliance Division on Addictions, which is affiliated with Harvard Medical School, if you answer “yes” to any of the following three questions, there is a possibility of a gambling problem.
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During the past 12 months, have you become restless, irritable or anxious when trying to stop/cut down on gambling?
During the past 12 months, have you tried to keep your family or friends from knowing how much you gambled?
During the past 12 months, did you have such financial trouble as a result of your gambling that you had to get help with living expenses from family, friends or welfare?
Call, text or chat with a trained counselor at 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) if you want or need to talk with someone about your gambling. The helpline can provide referral to Gamblers Anonymous or a certified gambler counselor, or send more detailed information on problem and disordered gambling.
Individuals also may go to www.kygamblinghelp.org, a website provided by KYCPG for awareness information and a self-screen for gambling addiction. KYCPG stresses that recovery from a gambling problem is possible once someone realizes and admits he or she needs help. Problem and disordered gambling is preventable, too, by following responsible gambling practices.
Before gambling ask and answer three questions before any gambling opportunity so the gambling can remain fun.
WHETHER to gamble? — Will gambling interfere with your responsibilities? Losing is likely and you cannot control chance.
WHEN to gamble? — Are you free of stress? Gambling is not a healthy way to deal with emotions or stress.
HOW MUCH to gamble? — Have you set limits? Gambling is entertainment, not an essential use of time or money.
If you do choose to gamble remember to keep track of pre-set time and money limits, take frequent breaks, and avoid ATMs or other immediate sources of money or credit.
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The Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling is a non-profit corporation whose mission is to increase awareness of problem gambling, promote prevention and research, and advocate for the availability of treatment. KYCPG is supported by memberships and donations. Corporate members include Churchill Downs, Inc (Churchill Downs, Ellis Park, Turfway Park, Newport Racing and Gaming, Oak Grove Racing Gaming and Hotel, Derby City Gaming, and TwinSpires); Keeneland Race Course; The Mint (formerly Kentucky Downs); The Red Mile; The Kentucky Lottery Corporation; KRM Wagering; Bally’s Evansville, Belgerra Casino Resort, Caesars Southern Indiana, and Caesars Sportsbook.
Members of the Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling Board of Directors are President, Director of Education and NCPG Representative RonSonLyn Clark, Psy.D., Owensboro; Treasurer Michael Townsend, Crestwood; Secretary Sara Westerman, Crestwood; Professional Adviser Curtis L. Barrett, Ph.D., Prospect; John Arnett, Florence; Jim Blackerby, Lexington; Dennis Boyd, Louisville; Scott Hunt, Ph.D., Richmond; Gerrimy Keiffer, Owensboro; Patrick Malarkey, Louisville, and Chip Polston, Louisville.
When It’s No Longer Fun – There Is Help.
If you or someone you know thinks there is a gambling problem, please call or text 1-800-GAMBLER.
