We've all seen the signs and flyers at or near casino cages and ATMs that urge compulsive gamblers to ask themselves 20 questions and get help if they have a gambling problem. They always strike me like the warnings on cigarette packages that smoking is hazardous to your health. Why are they there and do you know how many people call the hotlines and are they effective?
The signs that you see in the casinos are partly due to Nevada’s gaming regulation (NGC 5.170) that requires all gaming licensees to take certain steps to address the issue of problem gambling. One of those steps is to post the helpline number and provide written information about the "nature and symptoms of problem gambling and resources for help."
In 1999, the first year the regulation went into effect, the number of calls to the Problem Gamblers HelpLine (800/522-4700) more than doubled, from 897 in 1998 to a record high, at that time, of 1,870. In 2005, the Nevada HelpLine received more than 2,600 calls and the numbers have gone up slightly year over year since then.
The regulation was adopted with strong support, not opposition, from the gaming industry. In fact, most of the larger gaming companies were already taking these steps and more, as part of their corporate programs to address problem gambling. The regulation simply established a minimum standard for all gaming licensees to follow.
Are they effective? Well, like most addictions, they're not for every person every time. But for most people these efforts are what move them from the hopelessness of addiction into the hopeful experience of recovery. For them, it isn’t all that important to know what motivated someone to put up the HelpLine number. What matters is that the number was there when they needed it and someone answered the phone when they called.
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Dave in Seattle.
Mar-23-2019
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