An estimated 1 to 3 percent of people who buy lottery tickets will become a problem gambler, according to Garland “Sonny” Ferguson of the division of behavioral health for the Arkansas Department of Health. To help combat and prevent problem gambling, the department is establishing a gambling help line. Ferguson said he hopes to have the line established early this month.
The National Council on Problem Gambling estimated in 2006, 1 percent of the adult population in Arkansas was struggling with pathological gambling and 2 percent struggled with problem gambling.
Prior to the start of the Arkansas Scholarship Lottery, the lottery commission voted to sequester $200,000 of their start-up money to allow for assistance with problem gambling. Money from unclaimed lottery tickets will continue to fund the program.
The help line is supposed to provide a triage and be a source for information for those who think they might have a gambling problem.
Ferguson said there are support groups for problem gamblers in Little Rock, Fort Smith and Bella Vista. However, he said based on information provided to him from the help lines of other states, there are five areas of the state where problem gamblers are likely to be found. Those areas are Fort Smith, Little Rock, Hot Springs, West Memphis and Fayetteville/Springdale.
Ferguson said the Louisiana help line receives about 300 calls per month from people in Arkansas.
“Of those, about 20 per month are asking for help. The rest ask questions about the casinos and buffets,” Ferguson said.
In the state, Ferguson said there is only one counselor who is a certified counselor.
“There is another person who is trained, but is not certified, who has been working with problem gamblers,” Ferguson said.
This month, Ferguson said training will be offered to help certify more counselors.
Ferguson said he visited the support group in Little Rock to gather more information. The group meets at the Second Presbyterian Church near the Cantrell and I-430 intersection. This group uses a 12-step program similar to the one used by Alcoholics Anonymous.
“Arkansas has some problem gamblers. They just have not really surfaced,” Ferguson said. “It will be a while before the rates increase.”
Although the agency is working to establish the help line, the full resources could take several more months to establish.
A few of the questions Gamblers Anonymous asks to determine if a person has a gambling problem are:
Do you ever lose time from work because of gambling?
Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy?
Is gambling affecting your reputation?
Do you ever feel remorse after gambling?
Do you ever gamble to get money to pay debts or solve financial difficulties?
Does gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency?
More questions and resources can be found at www.myarkansaslottery.com under the “play responsibly” link.
