Keith Whyte Discusses Problem Gambling Treatment and Legislation
Online Casino Advisory's interview with Keith Whyte of the National Council on Problem Gambling has covered the definition of problem gambling and the signs and ways to recognize gambling issues, and now will discuss helping problem gamblers.Whyte says that the need to address the gaps in assisting victims of problem gambling are what drew him from the AGA to his current position.
Whyte says that currently, the best treatment available for those unable to control their gambling is a combination of self-help mechanisms and counseling, specifically cognitive behavioral counseling. Self-help includes such group activity as Gamblers Anonymous, whereas counseling can be an intensive rehabilitation format, or ongoing counseling.
Properly combined, the two methods can achieve a success rate of individuals not backsliding to previous unhealthy behavior as high as 75 percent, according to the NCPG director.
While there may be hope in the future for a pill, or chemical therapy, there is no FDA-approved method of that type currently available, says Whyte.
Among the resources readily available for people struggling with gambling issues is the NCPG help-line, the largest problem gambling help-line in the world. Last year this number (1-800-522-4700) handled more than 255,000 calls in the US.
Whyte points out the Comprehensive Problem Gambling Act, just introduced to Congress as the first ever federal attempt to fund care for victims of compulsive gambling, as a measure showing how government can help, by funding research and treatment centers run by states, universities, and non-profit groups. He says measures such as this are the correct way to help victims, having said the incidence of illness is unaffected by the legal status of gambling.
Although the organization remains neutral on the subject of gaming laws, Whyte wonders "why they want to set the (regulatory) bar so much higher for online gambling, while there is no oversight for certain land gambling." He says he could buy a Virginia lottery ticket without any age verification, and there are forms of charitable gaming like bingo that are completely unaddressed.
"Why are there not the same restrictions for brick-and-mortar casinos, lotteries, and race tracks as is being proposed for Internet gambling?"
Whyte says the NCPG calls for a "national approach" to problem gaming, and would like legislators to "treat all forms of gambling equally."
Whyte also says the NCPG is helping to organize a bill, to be introduced later this year, that will address the high level of incidence of problem gambling among veterans. Whyte asserts that veterans have a number of characteristics that put them in danger of compulsion, and there is no treatment for gaming issues, through the VA or other agencies.
The population of the military as predominantly "young, male, minority individuals with risk-taking dispositions under a high level of stress" makes vets a key group to observe and treat, says Whyte.
Whyte and the NCPG are clearly intent on doing whatever necessary to help those losing control of their gambling, even if it means debunking urban myths and pet theories of eccentric Congressmen. As Whyte says, "We strive to be extremely scientific in our methods and research."
