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Unlike Tobacco, Gambling is Not Inherently Addictive, Harvard Expert Says

As long as there has been gambling, there have been people who will take gambling too far. But what can the casino industry do to help those patrons who have become addicted to their product?

While the casino industry can help provide such resources as help lines, industry executives and problem gambling experts said Monday that only the person with the addiction can solve the problem.

"We're not therapists, and we don't expect our employees to be therapists," said Punam Mathur, director of government and community affairs for MGM MIRAGE. "We encourage (employees) to use their link to the customer to encourage them to get help rather than being therapists.

"Is it a huge problem? No. But for those that have a problem, it's a huge problem. The role we can play is to support the research, to support employee assistance programs."

Mathur, together with Howard Shaffer, director of the Harvard Medical School Division on Addictions, and Carol O'Hare, executive director of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, spoke Monday on a one-hour program broadcast by satellite to casino workers across the country.

Though gaming industry opponents are quick to brand the casino industry in the same light as tobacco companies, Shaffer argued that such a comparison couldn't be drawn, since the gaming product is not inherently addictive and can be enjoyed by many without problems.

"There's a myth the game causes the disorder," Shaffer said. "If the game caused the disorder, everyone who played would become addicted."

In the overall American population, Shaffer said, about 1 percent can be diagnosed as current pathological gamblers, defined as exhibiting five or more symptoms of problem gambling. Another 2 percent are current problem gamblers, a less severe degree of gambling addiction.

Typical problem gamblers exhibit such characteristics as craving gambling, losing control of their gambling activities and continuing to gamble despite adverse consequences, Shaffer said.

Taped interviews with casino employees, interspersed in Monday's program, showed employees often believe they know which patrons have that problem.

"From the expressions on their faces, you can tell they're not having fun anymore," one employee said, adding that problem gamblers sometimes turned violent. Another referred to gambling as "like a narcotic" for problem gamblers.

This led one casino worker to ask if employees couldn't do what bartenders do, and cut off patrons who exhibit signals of problem gambling. Shaffer and O'Hare said this would be a mistake.

"The problem with that is that you can't smell a roll of quarters on my breath," O'Hare, a recovering problem gambler, said. "We don't have the same analogy with gambling. We don't have a blood alcohol test for this.

"The addiction is not about money. That's a poor measurement. It's really about the relationship of the individual with gambling."

Shaffer noted that problem gambling is a complex issue, and usually involves a variety of factors, including genetics, depression, anxiety and availability of gambling. Though it can be diagnosed by therapists, he said, it isn't something that can currently be picked out by a casino employee.

"We're asking operators too much to stop (a compulsive gambler)," Shaffer said. "Currently, it's not a reasonable expectation."

Instead, employees were urged to point potential problem gamblers toward resources that could provide help, such as toll-free numbers that put a patron in touch with a trained counselor. In Nevada, O'Hare said, more than 50 percent of callers received the number in a casino.

Though the casinos provide funding for problem gambling research and help lines, Shaffer argued that insurance companies, not casinos, should be responsible for funding problem gambling therapy.

"It is the insurance company that should be paying for treatment, because this is a recognized diagnosis," Shaffer said.

In providing such a service, Mathur noted that the gaming industry faces a much higher level of public scrutiny than other industries, saying that she had friends that shopped far too much or ate too much junk food.

"But we don't have help numbers at the mall or at fast food windows," Mathur said. "This is America. There's nothing you can do if a person doesn't understand or doesn't want help."

Monday's event was broadcast to more than 15 sites around the country, with an estimated audience of more than 500. Tapes of the event will be sent out to casinos and shown throughout the week.

The broadcast was the lead-off event in "Responsible Gambling Education Week," an industry-wide event devoted toward educating employees about problem gambling and resources available to combat it.

The Nevada Council on Problem Gambling's help line is (800) 522-4700.

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