Gamblers Seeking Help

The fear of many in Broward County is what the fallout will be for bringing slot machines and gambling into the area. There are going to be a lot of people with problems that are going to need help seeking and getting treatment for gambling addictions. However, no one knows who is going to pay for their treatment yet, and that is a problem.

Most states that offer gambling also provide help for those that need it – whether it is from the lottery or slot machines, or anything else. Florida is not one of those states. The state will be getting a total of $2.3 million to put toward gambling addiction programs, but they are choosing to spend that money on prevention, instead of treatment. Those that know what gambling can do to a person, or a family, know that this won’t be nearly enough to help.

Pat Fowler, Executive Director of the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling thinks that there is more than enough money to do both. They can use the $1.3 million from the lottery budget to pay for the prevention services and the $1 million a year from the four Broward pari-mutuels can go toward those that are the neediest in terms of treatment. They have lobbied for the breakdown, but legislators are not listening.

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