Nevada Misses a Step in Tackling Problem Gambling

The campaign, backed by the National Council on Problem Gambling, seeks to heighten public awareness of problem gambling and boost support for prevention, treatment, and recovery services.

The Silver State Acts Hesitantly on Problem Gambling

It similarly seeks to connect people who may need such services to the available options. Commenting on the upcoming month and the state of the state in Nevada, the International Problem Gambling Center’s (IPGC) Elizabeth Evans has expressed concerns about whether enough has been done.

At least in the Silver State. Evans has lived experience with addiction, making her uniquely suited to understand the grueling self-flagellation that gambling addicts go through, to speak nothing of mounting debt.

IPGC Executive Director Stephanie Goodman is similarly concerned about whether enough people are getting the message. Yet, she also seems moderately optimistic. Speaking to 8newsnow, Goodman finds reasons to be upbeat.

“What happens here is I think a space of hope,” she explains. Yet, there is an underlying trend that cannot be simply ignored. For starters, Nevada is not nearly doing enough. This opinion is shared by the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling counselor Ted Hartwell who echoes those concerns.

The Silver State has indeed been slower to respond to the need to muster more efforts – private and public – to address the issue of problem gambling. Lawmakers have already agreed to spend $2.2 million on problem gambling in 2024, but this may be insufficient to accomplish the task at hand, which is to spread awareness, and importantly – to offer treatment services to individuals who are already suffering.

There have been all sorts of calls to help bolster awareness. Goodman for one has criticized the lack of similar awareness for responsible gambling, or a sufficient chunk of the big events driving the state’s revenue being allocated to helping people who are suffering from gambling proliferation.

Funding Missing the Main Problem

According to UNLV’s International Gaming Institute Distinguished Fellow Alan Feldman was similarly concerned about how Nevada is addressing what is a growing problem not just in the state, but all across the nation. According to Feldman, efforts to fight back against gambling addiction ought to start in school already, citing evidence from other jurisdictions.

Feldman similarly cautioned that there is a gap in the understanding of problem gambling and more study of the issue is necessary. This underlying challenge comes amid the fact that Nevada may have more people who need and are even interested in assistance than there is funding to cover. Nevada is not alone in underfunding problem gambling safeguards, as Washington D.C. fully did away with it.

From the East Coast to the West Coast, there have been strong voices in support of doing more to protect consumers. This is good news. Now the money needs to be mustered for tangible results to materialize.