Our view: State should focus on cutting risk for problem gamblers – Press of Atlantic City

It sounds like a little thing. Maybe even a little silly.

A proposal in the New Jersey Legislature would allow betting at racetracks on horse races that have already happened.

But in light of a recent report on the high number of state residents with gambling problems, the horse-betting bill deserves serious scrutiny.

Is its intended purpose helping the struggling horse-racing industry worth adding to the growing list of wagering options that entice people at risk of developing serious gambling problems?

One of the main points of the report by the Rutgers University Center for Gambling Studies is that the rise in opportunities to gamble, such as casinos offering internet gaming, has seen a corresponding rise in gambling disorders. The rate in New Jersey is four times the national average and significantly higher than studies showed in 1989 and 1999.

For most, gambling is just another form of recreation.

But the more games you play, the more often you gamble and the more venues you frequent, the more likely you are to develop a problem, says Lia Nower, director of the Rutgers center.

Under the horse-race proposal, tracks would let customers use slot-like machines to bet on a database of old races. They would know the odds and some other details, but not the names of the horses or jockeys.

Proponents say the practice, which is already in place in four states, could triple state and local tax revenue to $300 million per year while helping save an industry struggling to survive.

Opponents see it as a way to improperly extend slot-like gambling to tracks, adding to the competition of already hurting casinos.

Putting aside which industry might be helped or hurt, the idea would add another option that could increase the risks for the nearly 15 percent of state residents who report having gambling problems and the 6 percent who meet the criteria for a gambling disorder. The risk extends to those too young to legally gamble. Researchers at Stockton University reported last year that more than a third of students in four Atlantic County middle or high schools had gambled in some way and that about one in seven of those believed their gambling had caused serious problems such as stress or anxiety.

Before the horse-betting idea advances in New Jersey, officials should focus on the intervention, prevention and treatment recommendations of the Rutgers center study.

Researchers cite the need to make gambling-treatment services available across the state, strengthen online programs that promote responsible gambling and mandate online gaming sites require enrollment and limit-setting at sign-up.

Education is also stressed, ideally beginning in elementary and secondary schools, where, the report says, a majority of educators and parents are unaware of the severe adverse consequences that can result from a seemingly harmless activity.

The Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey already does a lot to help problem gamblers, and the states self-exclusion list is a useful tool.

Following the Rutgers centers recommendations would help even more.

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Our view: State should focus on cutting risk for problem gamblers - Press of Atlantic City