Profs: city not ready for casino

For some, it begins with an innocent game of Texas Hold’em with friends or on the Internet…. For some, it begins with an innocent game of Texas Hold’em with friends or on the Internet. One game turns into two and two turns into twice a week, which quickly becomes twice a day. Before they know it, they’re addicted – they’re involved in what social workers call problem gambling, gambling behavior that disrupts a person’s normal way of life.

But what happens when a brand new $450 million casino comes to town? Does the gambler’s problem get worse, or are there adequate resources available to help?

In light of the Majestic Star slots casino being built in Pittsburgh’s North Side, these are exactly the questions three Pitt professors sought to answer.

What these professors – Rafael Engel, Daniel Rosen and Tracy Soska – found gave them doubts about Allegheny County’s ability to help problem gamblers.

Currently, Pennsylvania allocates $1.5 million to prevent people from developing gambling problems. The professors estimate that 97,036 people in Pennsylvania, 1 percent of the population, have gambling problems.

This means that the state sets aside an estimated $15.45 per individual.

Approximately 10,004 of the people receiving this money live in Allegheny County.

Engel said this might not be enough to get people the resources they need to overcome their addictions.

The professors found that of the 137 agencies that responded to their survey, only eight use diagnostic tests to determine if people have gambling problems. Engel’s concern comes from the fact that when Niagara Falls introduced casinos into its economy, it saw an increase in the number of problem gamblers.

“Eight agencies might be all we need,” he said. “[But] at the current time we may not have enough. We don’t have a community survey. From Niagara Falls, we can predict that the number will go up.”

But if there are 137 agencies, why are only eight of them testing their clients?

The researchers wondered the same thing. “We do believe there is a lack of familiarity with it,” Engel said, “and yet we know problem gambling cuts across every age, gender and class.”

The professors found that most institutions said they didn’t believe gambling was a concern for their clients.

While 53.4 percent of the agencies said they weren’t concerned about the issue, 25.9 percent said they lacked the appropriately trained staff and 10.3 percent said their staff lacked the time. About 26 percent gave other reasons.

The researchers offered several recommendations they hope will help to address these issues.

First, the professors suggest that the agencies be provided with opportunities to educate their employees.

Pitt officials are working to make that happen.

Jody Bechtold, field education coordinator for Pitt’s School of Social Work, will lead three training institutes on treating problem gamblers through the school’s continuing education program.

The programs cost $275 or $500 if they are combined with case consultation programs. But training more counselors to treat problem gamblers is only part of the solution.

The professors also suggest that all agencies, regardless of whether they offer mental health, substance abuse or social services, use diagnostic tests to identify problem gamblers.

They further suggested that these agencies have access to a list of places that treat problem gamblers and that the state expand its prevention efforts by increasing public awareness.

The professors also hope that the state will give more money to help problem gamblers, citing the fact that, in Niagara Falls 2 percent of the revenue raised by gambling goes toward funding Ontario’s Problem Gambling Research Centre.

Engel said he’s hopeful that the state will kick in the necessary funds and explained that most of the recommendations wouldn’t take that much additional funding to implement.

Others, however, were not eager to hear that the professors’ plans hinge on state funding.

Bruce Barron, president of the Allegheny County anti-gambling organization No Dice, said he was “very appreciative to the School of Social Work [but] disappointed that they’re reaching out to the state.”

Barron added that current funding “is a joke. If the state would increase by 10,000 percent, we’d be there.”

Treatment for gambling disorders is done on an individual basis. According to Bechtold, the first step professionals take is to determine if a patient is suicidal and to stabilize them if necessary. Individual treatment can occur once a week or more frequently and involves “anything from responsible gaming, to harm reduction, to complete abstinence.”