Gambling Addiction - Prohibition or Treatment?

Gambling News - September 18th, 2009 - Written by Glen

A new study suggests that treating compulsive gambling would be more effective than prohibition. The argument proposed by many anti-gambling groups is that gambling leads to compulsive behavior, and that by preventing gambling as an option would cure the problem.

"Treatment, not prohibition, is the best way to treat problem gamblers," was the statement given by Joanna Franklin. Franklin is the president of the Institute on Problem Gambling in Baltimore. She has designed clinical training programs in all but five of the fifty United States.

The statement came on her praising of the Illinois Video Gaming Act. The act, which was to add video lottery terminals in the state, is set to provide over $2 million dollars to the treatment of problem gamblers.

The Bill was signed into law on July 13th, and has been met with rugged opposition. The executive branch of Illinois gave the different counties the option on having VLT's or tossing them out the window, and many counties and local jurisdictions have already banned the Terminals out right.

"Problem Gamblers are not without options. They will go to a racetrack or casino or the Internet if they can't find a video gaming machine," said Franklin.

The Act has crafted multiple levels of relief for problem gamblers. In 2008, a study by the Psychological Medicine magazine reported that the prevalence of problem gambling in the United States is roughly 2.6% amongst the general population.

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