Kansas Residents Worried About Gambling Addiction

Kansas legislators are excited about bringing in slot machines to the state, but many residents are not so excited about the prospect of increased crime and gambling addiction. Experts say that with four American Indian casinos already in the state, and Missouri and Oklahoma offering casinos across the state line – there are plenty of opportunities for people to gamble.

They say that by adding slot machines into their state they will be increasing the number of gambling addicts in the state, as well as opening the door for more to become addicted – as they will be right in their own backyard. Studies prove that the closer you get to slot machines and gambling, the higher number of gambling addicts you have.

Harvard Medical School’s Division on Addiction has estimated that roughly 73,000 people in Kansas probably already have gambling addiction problems – which is roughly 4% of their adult population. A separate, but equally distressing study by GVC Marquette for the Wichita Downtown Development Corp. found that by putting a casino in Wichita they would be bringing in somewhere around 5,200 to 7,800 pathological gamblers in the 50 miles surrounding the slot machines.

The gambling hotline – Problem Gamblers – which is run by the state already gets dozens of calls each month with people needing help with their gambling addiction. Experts say these numbers will greatly increase with the proximity of slot machines, especially since most callers that call the line say they are already addicted to slot machines and they are a state over.




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