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November 4, 2010, 2:44 pm The States’ Role in Gambling Addiction
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Isaac Brekken for The New York Times
Gambling was among the issues on local ballots in Tuesday’s election. But do lotteries and other state initiatives promote gambling addiction? This was among the questions recently posed by readers of the Consults blog. Dr. Timothy Fong, co-director of the gambling studies program and an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, responds. For more information, see Dr. Fong’s earlier responses in “When Is Gambling an Addiction?” and “Seeking Help for Gambling Addiction.”
Do Governments Promote Gambling Addiction?
Q.
I find it appalling that states spend money on advertising designed to hook people with gambling addictions. Why hasn’t anyone insisted that gambling advertisements have warnings like cigarette ads? Why is it legal for the states to act like con men, alluring people with the promise of easy money?
Debbie R., Brookline, Mass.
A.
Dr. Fong responds:
Legalized gambling is available in every state in America except Hawaii and Utah. During the last 20 years, expansion of gambling has occurred quickly and oftentimes is a direct result of the state needing to increase revenue without having to raise taxes. As a result, the pace of gambling has proceeded faster than our ability to understand its direct impact on individuals, family and society. The gambling industry understands that its product is addictive, and it has taken steps to reduce the harm. Many of these warnings are on gambling ads in the form of helplines.
State Lotteries and Gambling Addiction
Q.
In your opinion, do you think the state lotteries are complicit in creating addictions to gambling?
M. Klein, N.Y.
A.
Dr. Fong responds:
State lotteries come in a variety of different formats and games. There is no scientific data that I have seen that shows that lottery play can lead directly to gambling addiction. Playing the lottery is still gambling, though, so lottery games that offer a high reward with high frequency — for example, “scratch” games or video lottery terminals — probably carry a higher chance of harm.
Q.
Many if not all states now partially fund their education systems by preying off of gamblers’ addictions by means of state lotteries. These same states are reluctant to fully fund the education but spend vast amounts of money on the prison systems, whose capacity is substantially swollen by nonviolent drug offenders. The rationale of criminalization of drug use depends largely on the notion that it is addictive. So gambling indirectly funds the prison system by enabling states to transfer monies from education to incarceration. In a certain sense, the entire population is complicit, buying into the notion that drugs are evil because they are addictive, and then rationalizing the role of gambling because it “contributes” to education. Moreover, casinos are spreading nationwide, a process enabled by the same rationalization mechanism.
My questions: Shouldn’t addiction be seen as the “prey” endpoint of a larger predation psycho-dynamic? Without discounting the responsibility of individuals, isn’t our society as a whole responsible for this larger predation dynamic?
It seems clear that this larger dynamic spills over to our politics and our foreign relations. For example, our military as “uber-assassin” using drones, which are conveniently called “predator drones.” How do we analyze and understand this spill over and its implications for our individual relationship to our country and each other?
CharlieR, Somerville, Mass.
A.
Dr. Fong responds:
America’s history with gambling has been characterized by ambivalence. There have been periods of full embrace of gambling within communities, followed by movements seeking temperance and prohibition.
Starting in the 1970s, there was a slow movement to accept gambling as a regulated pastime. As gambling expanded over the last 20 years, regulation of gambling has been an issue at the state level, meaning that there has not been a national, consistent plan to address the impact of gambling problems.
The result has been that each state has different approaches, resources and attitudes on how to deal with gambling addiction. Legalizing gambling has significantly contributed to the economy and has supported many different businesses and industries. The negative impact, though, of pathological gambling remains under-addressed in many states. It is my belief that there is a shared responsibility between the gambling industry, the government and individuals who gamble to work together to develop policies and procedures that limit harm from gambling.
gambling addiction
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From Consults
22 Readers' Comments
Post a Comment »
1.
Howard08817
NJ
November 4th, 2010
1:59 pm
Dr. Fong, gambling is not a pastime, its an illness.
Recommend Recommended by 11 Readers
2.
mom
fort lauderdale
November 4th, 2010
7:05 pm
We all fall somewhere along the "good luck . . . . . . . hard work" continuum: we believe some of what happens to us is the result of good luck, and some is the result of our own hard work. When we depend on good luck to pay our bills, our gambling is a mental illness, hugely costly to each and every taxpayer.
Taxpayers have choices every other year at election time. The information we get about gambling says it's just fun for most people, and anyway, government shouldn't be interfering in people's lives. But the people whose lives are ruined by addictive gambling are inaudible single voices, outshouted by the people who make money on gambling. When the losers are invisible, the winners are invincible.
Recommend Recommended by 8 Readers
3.
nezumi
California
November 5th, 2010
7:21 am
Fortunately California has cut off welfare recipients' ability to receive cash at casino ATMs using their government-issued cards. But that will not stop the betting at illegal mah jongg and bones games.
Recommend Recommended by 3 Readers
4.
James S. Goodman, M.D., psychiatrist
Albuquerque, NM
November 5th, 2010
7:21 am
The commercial forces behind gambling are always sly enough to present their proposals in a way that offers some appealing good, like helping oppressed Indian tribes or supporting underfunded education. But surely there must be other ways to accomplish these aims without spreading a disease.
I recall visiting New York when the government first opened off-track betting locations. One rationalization was “people will do it anyway,” but this ignores the fact that when we make it easier to engage in a potentially harmful, addictive behavior, more people will do it, so more people will be harmed. I was amazed to see ads on New York buses promoting off-track betting, i.e., encouraging more people to gamble. Later in my home state of California I was further amazed at the slick radio and TV ads promoting the California Lottery.
Dr. Fong tells us that the gambling industry is concerned about problem gamblers. But how much do they spend to help them compared to the amount they spend on advertising and other means to encourage people to spend more than they should? Casinos in New Mexico (and perhaps elsewhere) play strange sounds which seem designed to “scramble your brain,” making it difficult to think clearly, e.g., about how much money you are losing. The casinos’ spending a pittance to help problem gamblers seems like the programs which the oil companies brag about, claiming they are working so hard to help the environment.
I wish the Times would tell us how much funding Dr. Fong’s gambling studies program receives from the gambling industry.
Recommend Recommended by 4 Readers
5.
gambler
RI
November 5th, 2010
7:21 am
Gambling is a personal choice and a form of entertainment, not an illness.
Recommend Recommended by 2 Readers
6.
miles
Digby
November 5th, 2010
7:22 am
Remember when Christians in this country stopped gambling because people who gamble, pray while playing craps for the correct dice to come up or for god to give them a royal flush. Taking the lords name in vain.
When the lottery first began in California I lived in the ghetto in Emeryville CA. I remember the long lines and people who would use their food stamps then all their cash for tickets. I only once bought a lottery ticket and it was when I was financially desperate, didn't work.
Yes gambling is an addiction just ask Bob Bennett. He would have never have down it if he was not addicted. It did damage his career, but not by much.
I agree with CharlieR, Somerville, Mass. that was well put.
Recommend Recommended by 2 Readers
7.
N Arem
Nevada
November 5th, 2010
7:22 am
Everything that you do in life is gambling. From the more obvious monetary gambles like casinos, lotteries and stock markets. To the somewhat obvious gambles like investing money to start a small business. To the not-so-obvious gamble of driving in rush hour traffic. It's absurd to tell people they can gamble in some manner (live in a casino, in a store at a lottery, at a horse racing track) but not other ways. In fact, it's absurd to tell people they can't do what they want with their own money. If that includes gambling, so be it.
People find a way to wreck their lives in hundreds of different manners from cheating on their spouse to drinking to driving too fast to whatever. It isn't like we ban marriage because of cheating, cars because of fast drivers, etc. Gambling is yet another entertainment outlet that an overwhelming majority of the population can enjoy responsibly and a small percentage of people manage to abuse badly.
Gamble on.
Recommend Recommended by 3 Readers
8.
soft wired
LA
November 5th, 2010
7:22 am
i support gambling in the form of lotteries because it lowers taxes and increases revenues for governments that provide at least some useful services for me. as i tell my students, gambling using government administered lotteries is a voluntary tax on the stupid.
what i find irritating is that gambling losses can be deducted from income for tax purposes. this encourages the risky behavior, and for those of you who believe that gambling is addictive, makes it easier to become addicted.
Recommend Recommended by 1 Readers
9.
Michael
Philadelphia
November 5th, 2010
7:23 am
Dr. Fong is entirely too passive about the cancer of gambling addiction abetted by our governers. Making states' economies dependent on gambling through lotteries is the real issue, and until we're mature enough to accept the tax burden we deserve, Americans will continue to spend the few dollars they have left on distant chances of winning, with the bankrupt state governments collecting the only real windfall.
Recommend Recommended by 5 Readers
10.
bob
nyc
November 5th, 2010
7:23 am
Wow , the "State" has even lost money on OTB here is New York - I never see the figures for income from Gambling. Or even job creation . But who cares it is not worth it !
Regardless, we may not be able to get rid of gambling but its advertising must be curtailed . It is an addictive habit that at worst ruins families and at best leaves 90% of its particpants feeling empty. Look at the faces of people as they enter casinos and as they leave them .
The strong relation of gambling to smoking , obesity and alcoholism also needs attention for a healthy America -
Recommend Recommended by 3 Readers
11.
Jamakaya
Milwaukee
November 5th, 2010
7:23 am
What a great example of writing (and thinking) that erases itself from Dr. Fong. Why is it that I feel the splinters from his sitting on the fence? The next time the Times needs an expert to comment on a pressing issue, I'm certainly available to provide generic, wishy-washy, 'ambivalent' answers. Thanks at least to the questioners for their clarity.
Recommend Recommended by 3 Readers
12.
l0ving
Medford, MA
November 5th, 2010
7:24 am
Dr Fong seems so blindsided that I have to question his sincerity. He sounds like a politician who is trying to make every response neutral, so I can only hope he has the best interest of the people at heart. I don't think Big Brother should be watching out for us, but neither do I think we should be handed a heroin filled needle on the theory that we don't have to use it if we don't want to.
Recommend Recommended by 3 Readers
13.
AJ37
Wahoo, NE
November 5th, 2010
7:24 am
You call these questions?? They're merely dubiously reasoned axe-grinding about the questioner's pet topic, with just enough added onto the end to make them sound relevant to the topic. NYT FAIL.
Recommend Recommended by 2 Readers
14.
Ross Williams
Minnesota
November 5th, 2010
9:25 am
Who is he trying to kid? The gambling industry understands its product is addictive and uses it to make more money. Just like the tobacco industry. And they hire academic hacks both to help them take advantage of people to defend themselves from normal laws against con operations, just like the tobacco industry. We go along with it because we get a cut of the proceeds in the form of government investments at less cost to us.
Recommend Recommended by 4 Readers
15.
David G.
Cleveland, OH
November 6th, 2010
7:29 am
State-sponsored lotteries is yet another regressive way to tax poor and uneducated - their primary target and participants. It represents a shameless utterly irresponsible exploitation of human greed and stupidity by governments. Worse yet, it does help spreading gambling addiction and acceptance in public, Dr. Fong learned opinion notwithstanding.
Recommend Recommended by 4 Readers
16.
BernieLuck
Phoenix, AZ
November 7th, 2010
11:08 am
I agree, "legal" gambling is a personal choice. It is a form of entertainment and most times, quite fun. In the state of Arizona you must be 21 years of age to enter a Casino, therefore, it is the choice of the adult individual to put their money into a slot machine or slam it down on a blackjack or poker table.
To refer to legal gambling as cancer is both ridiculous and extremely insulting. The "C" word is tremendously provocative and shame on you for using the word so carelessly and comparing it to an addition that can be discussed through counseling.
Not to get off track, there are many pleasures in life that are greatly regulated and OVERLY taxed by the local and federal government. Gambling is one of them and yes, as some of the others have mentioned, tobacco and quite frankly alcohol is on this list as well. When you walk into an Arizona casino there are many signs that read, “Play Responsibly.” It is then the adult player's responsibility to do just that. Have Americans become so arrogant and immature that we blame the government and advertising agencies for our own decisions? The choice is yours to gamble, drink or smoke and PLEASE take ownership and accountability for your own actions!
Now, I must excuse myself so I can light up this cigarette, take a drink of my beer and pull the lever on this Wild Cherry 7s machine.
Good day to all and a good night!
Recommend Recommended by 1 Readers
17.
incredulous
fairfax
November 7th, 2010
11:08 am
"In a certain sense, the entire population is complicit"
No, Charles it is not. Not really. This is a huge problem people with addictions have, always looking to place blame on others or create excuses for their own personal bad choices.
For my two cents a doctor whose livelihood depends on people having problems, I wouldn't count on Dr, Fong to be in any hurry to offer solutions.
These states and their politicians made their ignorant constituents their prey. The salaries of govt. workers who manage this money making industry are unbelievable.
I voted against them, they came anyway. But just like heroin, pornography, alcohol, cheating on your family and other expensive vices, with or without government sponsorship these are choices people are going to make. Some people are determined to destroy themselves. They didn't want moralizing when they wanted to pursue them, I think its ridiculous to offer it after the fact by assuming it is someone else's responsibility to pick them up out of the gutter.
The addiction industry may listen, at $200 an hour, to how mean your mother was, but in the end, the only people who get off stuff are the one's who decided not to do "it". May as well make the choice not to do it before you mess up your life.
Recommend Recommended by 3 Readers
18.
in training
Schuylkill Co. PA
November 8th, 2010
10:35 am
Here we go again - evilizing fun for most. The statistics are that only 3-7% qualify for pathological gambling addiction, alcoholism is around 17% - a squeaky few make it sound like everyone entering a casino or buying a ticket is going to eventually ruin or lose everything. Stop blaming. Our society needs to focus more on accountability and support not disease and sickness.
Another interesting fact is that females who admit to gambling addiction often claim it helps them to disconnect from their lives of heavy duty care-taking (esp.elderly), sexual abuse and addictive behaviors of others at home- that therapy, drugs and agencies can't compete with, especially when casinos make sure they win just enough to keep them returning, treat them like queens and create a fantasy environment or excitement that sets off a drug-like rush. Even the the 80% plus who enjoy the environment for simple entertainment understand that and chose to participate in it with intelligence, knowledge of risk and a sense of humor. I hate when the 'experts' assume we are stupid.
Recommend Recommended by 0 Readers
19.
Think before you speak
Honolulu
November 8th, 2010
8:05 pm
To all those who just chalk up problem gambling to being stupid or weak-willed, please consider the following: Even if one grants the premise that individuals who develop gambling problems should be held responsible for their choices, the damage that gambling causes is not limited to the individuals putting the money down on the table or into the machines. It also affects families and communities. My mother developed a gambling problem in Oregon, where the state relies heavily on gambling revenues to substitute for revenue it is either unwilling or incapable of raising through taxes. I have never understood the appeal of gambling and have never made any decision to gamble beyond blowing $10 on slot machines during my only trip to Vegas (a place I find repulsive). Nevertheless, gambling has ruined the past three years of my life, as I was convinced by my mother to hand over all of my available earnings in an effort to save my family's house from foreclosure, until finding out that she had actually taken a second mortgage and gambled away all the equity. Perhaps I can be criticized for being too trusting of the woman that gave birth to me and raised me essentially as a single mother, but can you really say that someone in my position deserved to suffer these consequences because I am irresponsible and a poor decision-maker? My history of rising from a lower-class background to earning three degrees from the nation's premier schools suggests otherwise. Whine about other people's irresponsibility all you want, but the fact is that people do not live in isolation from each other, and while you can criticize people like my mother for being weak-willed and "stupid"--Lord knows I have until I was red in the face--I can just as easily point to the irresponsibility of voters and politicians who like government spending, but don't want to fund it with sufficient taxes, so they choose instead to prey on the vulnerable for extra revenue. State-sanctioned gambling has cost me everything--my savings, my credit, my mother, and my mental and emotional well-being--and I didn't have to gamble a cent for it to do so.
You can make a reasonable argument that the state shouldn't prohibit gambling, based on the premise that there are many who enjoy it responsibly and shouldn't be punished for others' inability to do so, but there is no defense for the position that a state should encourage behavior that indisputably leads to ruin for people who can't gamble responsibly and other people they are connected to. I agree that gambling more than you can afford is stupid and irresponsible--I think the same thing about smoking cigarettes--but I would never support a government that went around handing them out to people, essentially encouraging people to become dependent on them.
Recommend Recommended by 4 Readers
20.
JMR
Asheville NC
November 10th, 2010
8:47 am
Any sort of pleasurable activity can get out of control for certain people. Is that a reason to ban all pleasure? Please get real!
Recommend Recommended by 0 Readers
21.
DK
Boston, MA
November 10th, 2010
8:47 am
Extremely well said #19! Most of the posters have completely missed the point of the article. Instead of trying to argue if it is the State's right or responsibility to sanction/fund lottery systems in order to collect revenues for services that it renders, the posters are justifying why all gambling should be legal or illegal. Folks, please remember to take your Ritalin and re-read the article before posting!
Recommend Recommended by 2 Readers
22.
motorcity555
.detroit,michigan
November 11th, 2010
11:55 am
Well here is my take on the issue of gambling and the throes of addiction. I am active in Narcotic Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous....just short of double digit in years of abstaining from Gambling. For me I truly believe that it is an emotional issue; that Gambling primarily gives me a reason to fail. It is truly an indsidious disease that knows no boundaries, and personally a person can do all the intellectual foray into this field, but folks have to literally go through this devastating illness to feel the grasp of the problem. Personally I don't believe a person can sit back and conclude that he or she would acquire the disease of addiction by intellectualizing the issue. My only advise to folks: if you think you'll become addicted to gambling, and this merely is a thought in your mind...then don't partake....it won't be a decision that you'll regret.
Recommend Recommended by 1 Readers
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Isaac Brekken for The New York TimesGambling was among the issues on local ballots in Tuesday’s election. But do lotteries and other state initiatives promote gambling addiction? This was among the questions recently posed by readers of the Consults blog. Dr. Timothy Fong, co-director of the gambling studies program and an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Los Angeles, responds. For more information, see Dr. Fong’s earlier responses in “When Is Gambling an Addiction?” and “Seeking Help for Gambling Addiction.”
Do Governments Promote Gambling Addiction?
Q.
I find it appalling that states spend money on advertising designed to hook people with gambling addictions. Why hasn’t anyone insisted that gambling advertisements have warnings like cigarette ads? Why is it legal for the states to act like con men, alluring people with the promise of easy money?
Debbie R., Brookline, Mass.
A.
Dr. Fong responds:
Legalized gambling is available in every state in America except Hawaii and Utah. During the last 20 years, expansion of gambling has occurred quickly and oftentimes is a direct result of the state needing to increase revenue without having to raise taxes. As a result, the pace of gambling has proceeded faster than our ability to understand its direct impact on individuals, family and society. The gambling industry understands that its product is addictive, and it has taken steps to reduce the harm. Many of these warnings are on gambling ads in the form of helplines.
State Lotteries and Gambling Addiction
Q.
In your opinion, do you think the state lotteries are complicit in creating addictions to gambling?
M. Klein, N.Y.
A.
Dr. Fong responds:
State lotteries come in a variety of different formats and games. There is no scientific data that I have seen that shows that lottery play can lead directly to gambling addiction. Playing the lottery is still gambling, though, so lottery games that offer a high reward with high frequency — for example, “scratch” games or video lottery terminals — probably carry a higher chance of harm.
Q.
Many if not all states now partially fund their education systems by preying off of gamblers’ addictions by means of state lotteries. These same states are reluctant to fully fund the education but spend vast amounts of money on the prison systems, whose capacity is substantially swollen by nonviolent drug offenders. The rationale of criminalization of drug use depends largely on the notion that it is addictive. So gambling indirectly funds the prison system by enabling states to transfer monies from education to incarceration. In a certain sense, the entire population is complicit, buying into the notion that drugs are evil because they are addictive, and then rationalizing the role of gambling because it “contributes” to education. Moreover, casinos are spreading nationwide, a process enabled by the same rationalization mechanism.
My questions: Shouldn’t addiction be seen as the “prey” endpoint of a larger predation psycho-dynamic? Without discounting the responsibility of individuals, isn’t our society as a whole responsible for this larger predation dynamic?
It seems clear that this larger dynamic spills over to our politics and our foreign relations. For example, our military as “uber-assassin” using drones, which are conveniently called “predator drones.” How do we analyze and understand this spill over and its implications for our individual relationship to our country and each other?
CharlieR, Somerville, Mass.
A.
Dr. Fong responds:
America’s history with gambling has been characterized by ambivalence. There have been periods of full embrace of gambling within communities, followed by movements seeking temperance and prohibition.
Starting in the 1970s, there was a slow movement to accept gambling as a regulated pastime. As gambling expanded over the last 20 years, regulation of gambling has been an issue at the state level, meaning that there has not been a national, consistent plan to address the impact of gambling problems.
The result has been that each state has different approaches, resources and attitudes on how to deal with gambling addiction. Legalizing gambling has significantly contributed to the economy and has supported many different businesses and industries. The negative impact, though, of pathological gambling remains under-addressed in many states. It is my belief that there is a shared responsibility between the gambling industry, the government and individuals who gamble to work together to develop policies and procedures that limit harm from gambling.
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- Seeking Help for Gambling Addiction
- When Is Gambling an Addiction?
- Ask an Expert About Gambling Addiction
- Previous Post Seeking Help for Gambling Addiction
22 Readers' Comments
Post a Comment »
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1.
Howard08817
NJ
November 4th, 2010
1:59 pm
Dr. Fong, gambling is not a pastime, its an illness.
Recommend Recommended by 11 Readers
2.
mom
fort lauderdale
November 4th, 2010
7:05 pm
We all fall somewhere along the "good luck . . . . . . . hard work" continuum: we believe some of what happens to us is the result of good luck, and some is the result of our own hard work. When we depend on good luck to pay our bills, our gambling is a mental illness, hugely costly to each and every taxpayer.
Taxpayers have choices every other year at election time. The information we get about gambling says it's just fun for most people, and anyway, government shouldn't be interfering in people's lives. But the people whose lives are ruined by addictive gambling are inaudible single voices, outshouted by the people who make money on gambling. When the losers are invisible, the winners are invincible.
Recommend Recommended by 8 Readers
3.
nezumi
California
November 5th, 2010
7:21 am
Fortunately California has cut off welfare recipients' ability to receive cash at casino ATMs using their government-issued cards. But that will not stop the betting at illegal mah jongg and bones games.
Recommend Recommended by 3 Readers
4.
James S. Goodman, M.D., psychiatrist
Albuquerque, NM
November 5th, 2010
7:21 am
The commercial forces behind gambling are always sly enough to present their proposals in a way that offers some appealing good, like helping oppressed Indian tribes or supporting underfunded education. But surely there must be other ways to accomplish these aims without spreading a disease.
I recall visiting New York when the government first opened off-track betting locations. One rationalization was “people will do it anyway,” but this ignores the fact that when we make it easier to engage in a potentially harmful, addictive behavior, more people will do it, so more people will be harmed. I was amazed to see ads on New York buses promoting off-track betting, i.e., encouraging more people to gamble. Later in my home state of California I was further amazed at the slick radio and TV ads promoting the California Lottery.
Dr. Fong tells us that the gambling industry is concerned about problem gamblers. But how much do they spend to help them compared to the amount they spend on advertising and other means to encourage people to spend more than they should? Casinos in New Mexico (and perhaps elsewhere) play strange sounds which seem designed to “scramble your brain,” making it difficult to think clearly, e.g., about how much money you are losing. The casinos’ spending a pittance to help problem gamblers seems like the programs which the oil companies brag about, claiming they are working so hard to help the environment.
I wish the Times would tell us how much funding Dr. Fong’s gambling studies program receives from the gambling industry.
Recommend Recommended by 4 Readers
5.
gambler
RI
November 5th, 2010
7:21 am
Gambling is a personal choice and a form of entertainment, not an illness.
Recommend Recommended by 2 Readers
6.
miles
Digby
November 5th, 2010
7:22 am
Remember when Christians in this country stopped gambling because people who gamble, pray while playing craps for the correct dice to come up or for god to give them a royal flush. Taking the lords name in vain.
When the lottery first began in California I lived in the ghetto in Emeryville CA. I remember the long lines and people who would use their food stamps then all their cash for tickets. I only once bought a lottery ticket and it was when I was financially desperate, didn't work.
Yes gambling is an addiction just ask Bob Bennett. He would have never have down it if he was not addicted. It did damage his career, but not by much.
I agree with CharlieR, Somerville, Mass. that was well put.
Recommend Recommended by 2 Readers
7.
N Arem
Nevada
November 5th, 2010
7:22 am
Everything that you do in life is gambling. From the more obvious monetary gambles like casinos, lotteries and stock markets. To the somewhat obvious gambles like investing money to start a small business. To the not-so-obvious gamble of driving in rush hour traffic. It's absurd to tell people they can gamble in some manner (live in a casino, in a store at a lottery, at a horse racing track) but not other ways. In fact, it's absurd to tell people they can't do what they want with their own money. If that includes gambling, so be it.
People find a way to wreck their lives in hundreds of different manners from cheating on their spouse to drinking to driving too fast to whatever. It isn't like we ban marriage because of cheating, cars because of fast drivers, etc. Gambling is yet another entertainment outlet that an overwhelming majority of the population can enjoy responsibly and a small percentage of people manage to abuse badly.
Gamble on.
Recommend Recommended by 3 Readers
8.
soft wired
LA
November 5th, 2010
7:22 am
i support gambling in the form of lotteries because it lowers taxes and increases revenues for governments that provide at least some useful services for me. as i tell my students, gambling using government administered lotteries is a voluntary tax on the stupid.
what i find irritating is that gambling losses can be deducted from income for tax purposes. this encourages the risky behavior, and for those of you who believe that gambling is addictive, makes it easier to become addicted.
Recommend Recommended by 1 Readers
9.
Michael
Philadelphia
November 5th, 2010
7:23 am
Dr. Fong is entirely too passive about the cancer of gambling addiction abetted by our governers. Making states' economies dependent on gambling through lotteries is the real issue, and until we're mature enough to accept the tax burden we deserve, Americans will continue to spend the few dollars they have left on distant chances of winning, with the bankrupt state governments collecting the only real windfall.
Recommend Recommended by 5 Readers
10.
bob
nyc
November 5th, 2010
7:23 am
Wow , the "State" has even lost money on OTB here is New York - I never see the figures for income from Gambling. Or even job creation . But who cares it is not worth it !
Regardless, we may not be able to get rid of gambling but its advertising must be curtailed . It is an addictive habit that at worst ruins families and at best leaves 90% of its particpants feeling empty. Look at the faces of people as they enter casinos and as they leave them .
The strong relation of gambling to smoking , obesity and alcoholism also needs attention for a healthy America -
Recommend Recommended by 3 Readers
11.
Jamakaya
Milwaukee
November 5th, 2010
7:23 am
What a great example of writing (and thinking) that erases itself from Dr. Fong. Why is it that I feel the splinters from his sitting on the fence? The next time the Times needs an expert to comment on a pressing issue, I'm certainly available to provide generic, wishy-washy, 'ambivalent' answers. Thanks at least to the questioners for their clarity.
Recommend Recommended by 3 Readers
12.
l0ving
Medford, MA
November 5th, 2010
7:24 am
Dr Fong seems so blindsided that I have to question his sincerity. He sounds like a politician who is trying to make every response neutral, so I can only hope he has the best interest of the people at heart. I don't think Big Brother should be watching out for us, but neither do I think we should be handed a heroin filled needle on the theory that we don't have to use it if we don't want to.
Recommend Recommended by 3 Readers
13.
AJ37
Wahoo, NE
November 5th, 2010
7:24 am
You call these questions?? They're merely dubiously reasoned axe-grinding about the questioner's pet topic, with just enough added onto the end to make them sound relevant to the topic. NYT FAIL.
Recommend Recommended by 2 Readers
14.
Ross Williams
Minnesota
November 5th, 2010
9:25 am
Who is he trying to kid? The gambling industry understands its product is addictive and uses it to make more money. Just like the tobacco industry. And they hire academic hacks both to help them take advantage of people to defend themselves from normal laws against con operations, just like the tobacco industry. We go along with it because we get a cut of the proceeds in the form of government investments at less cost to us.
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15.
David G.
Cleveland, OH
November 6th, 2010
7:29 am
State-sponsored lotteries is yet another regressive way to tax poor and uneducated - their primary target and participants. It represents a shameless utterly irresponsible exploitation of human greed and stupidity by governments. Worse yet, it does help spreading gambling addiction and acceptance in public, Dr. Fong learned opinion notwithstanding.
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16.
BernieLuck
Phoenix, AZ
November 7th, 2010
11:08 am
I agree, "legal" gambling is a personal choice. It is a form of entertainment and most times, quite fun. In the state of Arizona you must be 21 years of age to enter a Casino, therefore, it is the choice of the adult individual to put their money into a slot machine or slam it down on a blackjack or poker table.
To refer to legal gambling as cancer is both ridiculous and extremely insulting. The "C" word is tremendously provocative and shame on you for using the word so carelessly and comparing it to an addition that can be discussed through counseling.
Not to get off track, there are many pleasures in life that are greatly regulated and OVERLY taxed by the local and federal government. Gambling is one of them and yes, as some of the others have mentioned, tobacco and quite frankly alcohol is on this list as well. When you walk into an Arizona casino there are many signs that read, “Play Responsibly.” It is then the adult player's responsibility to do just that. Have Americans become so arrogant and immature that we blame the government and advertising agencies for our own decisions? The choice is yours to gamble, drink or smoke and PLEASE take ownership and accountability for your own actions!
Now, I must excuse myself so I can light up this cigarette, take a drink of my beer and pull the lever on this Wild Cherry 7s machine.
Good day to all and a good night!
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17.
incredulous
fairfax
November 7th, 2010
11:08 am
"In a certain sense, the entire population is complicit"
No, Charles it is not. Not really. This is a huge problem people with addictions have, always looking to place blame on others or create excuses for their own personal bad choices.
For my two cents a doctor whose livelihood depends on people having problems, I wouldn't count on Dr, Fong to be in any hurry to offer solutions.
These states and their politicians made their ignorant constituents their prey. The salaries of govt. workers who manage this money making industry are unbelievable.
I voted against them, they came anyway. But just like heroin, pornography, alcohol, cheating on your family and other expensive vices, with or without government sponsorship these are choices people are going to make. Some people are determined to destroy themselves. They didn't want moralizing when they wanted to pursue them, I think its ridiculous to offer it after the fact by assuming it is someone else's responsibility to pick them up out of the gutter.
The addiction industry may listen, at $200 an hour, to how mean your mother was, but in the end, the only people who get off stuff are the one's who decided not to do "it". May as well make the choice not to do it before you mess up your life.
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18.
in training
Schuylkill Co. PA
November 8th, 2010
10:35 am
Here we go again - evilizing fun for most. The statistics are that only 3-7% qualify for pathological gambling addiction, alcoholism is around 17% - a squeaky few make it sound like everyone entering a casino or buying a ticket is going to eventually ruin or lose everything. Stop blaming. Our society needs to focus more on accountability and support not disease and sickness.
Another interesting fact is that females who admit to gambling addiction often claim it helps them to disconnect from their lives of heavy duty care-taking (esp.elderly), sexual abuse and addictive behaviors of others at home- that therapy, drugs and agencies can't compete with, especially when casinos make sure they win just enough to keep them returning, treat them like queens and create a fantasy environment or excitement that sets off a drug-like rush. Even the the 80% plus who enjoy the environment for simple entertainment understand that and chose to participate in it with intelligence, knowledge of risk and a sense of humor. I hate when the 'experts' assume we are stupid.
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19.
Think before you speak
Honolulu
November 8th, 2010
8:05 pm
To all those who just chalk up problem gambling to being stupid or weak-willed, please consider the following: Even if one grants the premise that individuals who develop gambling problems should be held responsible for their choices, the damage that gambling causes is not limited to the individuals putting the money down on the table or into the machines. It also affects families and communities. My mother developed a gambling problem in Oregon, where the state relies heavily on gambling revenues to substitute for revenue it is either unwilling or incapable of raising through taxes. I have never understood the appeal of gambling and have never made any decision to gamble beyond blowing $10 on slot machines during my only trip to Vegas (a place I find repulsive). Nevertheless, gambling has ruined the past three years of my life, as I was convinced by my mother to hand over all of my available earnings in an effort to save my family's house from foreclosure, until finding out that she had actually taken a second mortgage and gambled away all the equity. Perhaps I can be criticized for being too trusting of the woman that gave birth to me and raised me essentially as a single mother, but can you really say that someone in my position deserved to suffer these consequences because I am irresponsible and a poor decision-maker? My history of rising from a lower-class background to earning three degrees from the nation's premier schools suggests otherwise. Whine about other people's irresponsibility all you want, but the fact is that people do not live in isolation from each other, and while you can criticize people like my mother for being weak-willed and "stupid"--Lord knows I have until I was red in the face--I can just as easily point to the irresponsibility of voters and politicians who like government spending, but don't want to fund it with sufficient taxes, so they choose instead to prey on the vulnerable for extra revenue. State-sanctioned gambling has cost me everything--my savings, my credit, my mother, and my mental and emotional well-being--and I didn't have to gamble a cent for it to do so.
You can make a reasonable argument that the state shouldn't prohibit gambling, based on the premise that there are many who enjoy it responsibly and shouldn't be punished for others' inability to do so, but there is no defense for the position that a state should encourage behavior that indisputably leads to ruin for people who can't gamble responsibly and other people they are connected to. I agree that gambling more than you can afford is stupid and irresponsible--I think the same thing about smoking cigarettes--but I would never support a government that went around handing them out to people, essentially encouraging people to become dependent on them.
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20.
JMR
Asheville NC
November 10th, 2010
8:47 am
Any sort of pleasurable activity can get out of control for certain people. Is that a reason to ban all pleasure? Please get real!
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21.
DK
Boston, MA
November 10th, 2010
8:47 am
Extremely well said #19! Most of the posters have completely missed the point of the article. Instead of trying to argue if it is the State's right or responsibility to sanction/fund lottery systems in order to collect revenues for services that it renders, the posters are justifying why all gambling should be legal or illegal. Folks, please remember to take your Ritalin and re-read the article before posting!
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22.
motorcity555
.detroit,michigan
November 11th, 2010
11:55 am
Well here is my take on the issue of gambling and the throes of addiction. I am active in Narcotic Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous....just short of double digit in years of abstaining from Gambling. For me I truly believe that it is an emotional issue; that Gambling primarily gives me a reason to fail. It is truly an indsidious disease that knows no boundaries, and personally a person can do all the intellectual foray into this field, but folks have to literally go through this devastating illness to feel the grasp of the problem. Personally I don't believe a person can sit back and conclude that he or she would acquire the disease of addiction by intellectualizing the issue. My only advise to folks: if you think you'll become addicted to gambling, and this merely is a thought in your mind...then don't partake....it won't be a decision that you'll regret.
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