Nevada Takes A Step

Until recently, the state of Nevada has never spent any of its money on programs for compulsive gamblers. This is pretty hard to believe based on the fact that nearly 100,000 people in the state (6.4% of the population) have some form of gambling problems. Governor Kenny Guinn has proposed to use $200,000 as funds for problem gamblers. Although this is not very much money, this is the first time Nevada has ever put money towards this cause. Over the next two years, the state expects to collect $1.83 billion from gambling and live entertainment taxes. The casino industry, which makes about $10 billion a year, contributes $1 million to a problem gambling center in Las Vegas (Mike Willden, director of the state’s Department of Human Resources). Furthermore, New Jersey, a distant second in casino revenues with more than $4 billion, gives at least $600,000 to problem gambling programs each year, according to Edward Looney, executive director of the New Jersey Council on Problem Gambling.

According to Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, only 17 of 48 states that have some form of legalized gambling provide funding for problem gambling programs. It is estimated that 1-2% of the U.S. population are pathological gamblers, and almost 4% have a less severe problem.

http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/conditions/02/21/problem.gambling.ap/index.html