Post by blackcrowheart on May 1, 2007 12:14:37 GMT -5
State calls 1 million compulsive; report's effect debated
Almost 1 million adults are problem gamblers in California, according to a statewide study of compulsive gambling released by the governor's office Tuesday.
The release of the report comes as four Inland tribes push for state approval to expand their casinos. If the Legislature ratifies the tribe's deals, it would allow them to more than double the number of slot machines in the region and create the country's largest casinos.
It's unknown whether the report will affect those deals, which were negotiated between Gov. Schwarzenegger and the tribes.
Waltona Manion, a public-relations consultant for the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, said she expects there to be no effect.
She pointed out that Indian casinos are the only gambling establishments that have contributed money to the state Office of Problem and Pathological Gambling.
"In no way does the tribe expect this issue to affect passage of the compact because it is abundantly clear that tribal gaming has been the only entity to step up to the plate and contribute millions of dollars to this issue," Manion said Tuesday.
The Morongo tribe runs a casino near Cabazon. The Legislature is expected to hold hearings on amended state-tribal agreements for Morongo and three other Inland tribes this session.
Jack Gribbon, California's political director for the union representing hotel and restaurant employees, said he thinks the report could become a factor in the tribes' ratification efforts. The union opposes the agreements.
"I think there are a lot of legislators who have become concerned about it," Gribbon said.
The study was commissioned by the state and conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.
Officials wanted the study to help the state Office of Problem and Pathological Gambling to develop a plan to address problem and pathological gambling.
The office defines a problem gambler as someone who participates in any form of gambling to the point where it causes a negative consequence to the gambler, the gambler's family, place of employment or community.
The state problem-gambling office, which has been fully functional for just a couple of years, is funded entirely by gambling proceeds from tribes. The office spends about $3 million a year on radio and outdoor print advertisements, a toll-free help line and reading materials, among other things, said Steve Hedrick, director of the Office of Problem and Pathological Gambling.
Only Indian tribes can operate Las Vegas-style casinos, but California also is home to card clubs, horse racetracks and a state lottery. The survey of 7,121 people is designed to determine the effects of the growing gambling industry, which has expanded dramatically since state voters approved Vegas-style gambling on Indian reservations in 2000.
One former problem gambler from the Inland area questioned the report's estimate of 1 million problem gamblers in California.
"That's woefully low," said Tom Tucker, who runs the Compulsive Gambling Institute, a Palm Springs-based organization that helps gambling addicts. "You've got more than that right here in Southern California."
Tucker pointed out that the 1990 study -- conducted before Internet gambling and Indian casinos -- found that 4.1 percent of California's adults had a gambling problem.
"It really doesn't make sense that before the big gambling boom hit us," the percentage of pathological gamblers was higher, Tucker said.
Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, whose district contains eight tribal casinos, said compulsive gambling would be a problem with or without Indian gaming.
"I think before tribes you had off-track betting, you had horse racing, you had cockfighting. Tribes didn't create the gambling problem," she said. The growth of Internet gaming has made it so people can gamble without leaving their house, she added.
Almost 1 million adults are problem gamblers in California, according to a statewide study of compulsive gambling released by the governor's office Tuesday.
The release of the report comes as four Inland tribes push for state approval to expand their casinos. If the Legislature ratifies the tribe's deals, it would allow them to more than double the number of slot machines in the region and create the country's largest casinos.
It's unknown whether the report will affect those deals, which were negotiated between Gov. Schwarzenegger and the tribes.
Waltona Manion, a public-relations consultant for the Morongo Band of Mission Indians, said she expects there to be no effect.
She pointed out that Indian casinos are the only gambling establishments that have contributed money to the state Office of Problem and Pathological Gambling.
"In no way does the tribe expect this issue to affect passage of the compact because it is abundantly clear that tribal gaming has been the only entity to step up to the plate and contribute millions of dollars to this issue," Manion said Tuesday.
The Morongo tribe runs a casino near Cabazon. The Legislature is expected to hold hearings on amended state-tribal agreements for Morongo and three other Inland tribes this session.
Jack Gribbon, California's political director for the union representing hotel and restaurant employees, said he thinks the report could become a factor in the tribes' ratification efforts. The union opposes the agreements.
"I think there are a lot of legislators who have become concerned about it," Gribbon said.
The study was commissioned by the state and conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.
Officials wanted the study to help the state Office of Problem and Pathological Gambling to develop a plan to address problem and pathological gambling.
The office defines a problem gambler as someone who participates in any form of gambling to the point where it causes a negative consequence to the gambler, the gambler's family, place of employment or community.
The state problem-gambling office, which has been fully functional for just a couple of years, is funded entirely by gambling proceeds from tribes. The office spends about $3 million a year on radio and outdoor print advertisements, a toll-free help line and reading materials, among other things, said Steve Hedrick, director of the Office of Problem and Pathological Gambling.
Only Indian tribes can operate Las Vegas-style casinos, but California also is home to card clubs, horse racetracks and a state lottery. The survey of 7,121 people is designed to determine the effects of the growing gambling industry, which has expanded dramatically since state voters approved Vegas-style gambling on Indian reservations in 2000.
One former problem gambler from the Inland area questioned the report's estimate of 1 million problem gamblers in California.
"That's woefully low," said Tom Tucker, who runs the Compulsive Gambling Institute, a Palm Springs-based organization that helps gambling addicts. "You've got more than that right here in Southern California."
Tucker pointed out that the 1990 study -- conducted before Internet gambling and Indian casinos -- found that 4.1 percent of California's adults had a gambling problem.
"It really doesn't make sense that before the big gambling boom hit us," the percentage of pathological gamblers was higher, Tucker said.
Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia, R-Cathedral City, whose district contains eight tribal casinos, said compulsive gambling would be a problem with or without Indian gaming.
"I think before tribes you had off-track betting, you had horse racing, you had cockfighting. Tribes didn't create the gambling problem," she said. The growth of Internet gaming has made it so people can gamble without leaving their house, she added.