Whyte is executive director of the D.C.-based National Council for Problem Gambling, an organization that advocates for individuals and families hurt by gambling addictions. How widespread is problem gambling?
About 2 percent of adults have problems with gambling, so between 6 [million] and 9 million Americans, and 500,000 teens. They range from severe to fairly moderate.
And what’s so bad about it?
Like other addictions, it doesn’t just affect the individual; it affects their families and communities to the tune of about $7 billion a year, mainly related to criminal justice and health care — criminal justice because many problem gamblers will steal to finance their addiction.
So do you think it should be treated like drug addiction?
Yes. Even though there’s not a substance involved, the effect on the brain is exactly the same. And many of the same types of medications that reduce cravings in alcoholics also reduce cravings in problem gamblers.
What are the signs that you’re addicted?
If you can set a reasonable limit of time and money spent gambling and stick to it, you’ll never be a problem gambler.
So Las Vegas hates you guys?
No, believe it or not, we get a lot of support form the gaming industry. A number of gaming companies support responsible gaming.
Has Internet gambling made the problem worse?
Not as much you think. We haven’t seen rates of problem gambling spike over the last five to 10 years. What we do see is an increase in severity. People with gambling problems are getting into debt deeper and are finding it harder to recover because of the pervasiveness of Internet gambling. They’re at the casino and gambling their brains out, and then they get home they can just turn on the Internet. That temptation is always there. They’re always one click away from what they see as winning everything back.
— Liz Essley
