State board seeks funding to study problem gambling

CARSON CITY -- The state may soon be embarking on a $150,000 study to determine the extent of problem gambling in Nevada that is dominated by the casino industry.

The state Board of Examiners Monday recommended the money come from an emergency fund to gather the information in time for the 1999 Legislature.

State Human Resources Director Charlotte Crawford said the survey will determine how widespread the problem is and the ages, sex and income levels of compulsive gamblers. If the money is approved by the Legislative Interim Finance Committee, she said she is nearly ready to go out to bid for a firm to conduct the study.

Shannon Bybee, president of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling and a director on the national council, applauded the move. He said the state should pay for the study rather than the gambling industry so no one can claim it's biased.

There's never been a study in Nevada on how widespread the problem of compulsive gambling is. Harvard University did a review of 120 studies of problem gambling conducted in the United States and Canada and concluded that less than 1 1/2 percent of those who gamble are addicted, Bybee said. The Harvard study was financed by gambling interests.

Before the state can make any policy, Crawford and Bybee said it must know the magnitude of the problem and how to deal with it.

In early 1998, state Gaming Control Board Chairman William Bible, who has since left the post, formed a panel to explore the problem. Crawford, a member of the group, said it needed to get specifics before programs could be recommended.

Bybee, who is executive director of the UNLV International Gaming Institute, said he recommended the study at the last hearing of the Bible committee. Such a survey must have credibility and be accepted by the public, he said, and the state -- not the industry -- should pay for it.

He said there are no state programs to provide treatment for the compulsive gambler.

Bybee feels the state should provide treatment for compulsive gambling to the same extend as it provides therapy for drug and alcohol abuse. He added he would like to see insurance companies pay for the treatment, the same as drug and alcohol therapy.

Most gaming companies, Bybee said, cover their employees for problem gambling, but other companies in Nevada do not.

"This is a problem, but it is treatable," Bybee said. "I know of one compulsive gambler in recovery for 27 years and he still works as a dealer part time."

Bybee, a former member of the state Gaming Control Board, also worked in the industry both in Atlantic City and in Las Vegas.

The examiners board also recommended the Legislative Interim Finance Committee allocate $14,500 from its emergency fund to the state Ethics Commission which says it must pay for excess costs for investigators and court reporters.

The commission was given the additional task this year of policing unfair political campaign practices.

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