Treating those with gambling addictions
Regarding the recent articles from Thom Cole (“N.M. does little to combat gambling addiction,” Nov. 24) and the editorial from The New Mexican (“A risky gamble for addicts,” Our View, Nov. 26), please let us clarify the many efforts that are in place to educate, prevent and treat New Mexicans affected by problem gambling.
While the New Mexico Lottery may have paid $70,250 to the state, the member tribes of the Responsible Gaming Association of New Mexico contributed more than $1 million toward similar efforts this year.
New Mexico authorized Indian gaming in the mid-1990s. Even before the first casino opened, the sovereign nations collaborated to form the Responsible Gaming Association of New Mexico. Responsible Gaming Association of New Mexico began in 1994 and works to provide education, prevention and treatment for problem and compulsive gambling. These resources are available free of charge for those whose gambling surpasses entertainment.
Recent research indicates that for a small percentage of people, gambling can become an addiction similar to addictions to drugs or alcohol. The compacts that govern our state’s Native American-owned casinos require that one-quarter of 1 percent of the net-win be dedicated to education, prevention and treatment of gambling disorders. Our member tribes provide funds that Responsible Gaming Association of New Mexico and the casinos allocate, allowing more cohesive messages on prevention and more direct impact for gambling treatment.
We fund a 24/7 hotline, which provides immediate assistance and information to problem gamblers seeking help. Each month, about 25 visitors to our website click a link to one of the external treatment providers such as The Evolution Group, Gambler’s Anonymous and others.
Each year, we run hundreds of thousands of online ads reaching those with a known interest in gambling, reminding them to play responsibly and that resources are available. We also air television commercials statewide to make gamblers and their family members aware of those offerings. The resources that we provide are numerous — Responsible Gaming Association of New Mexico funds treatment for problem gamblers; we provide education about gambling through health fairs and events; we print brochures that are available at each member property (some specific to underage gambling and senior populations); and our casino properties train their staffs on how to identify and respond to a guest that may be showing signs of compulsive gambling. We also host an annual conference for 500 treatment providers to earn continuing education credits to expand their knowledge about addictions, particularly for the treatment for problem gamblers.
Each casino has a self-ban process that we know is helpful for problem gamblers. This allows a gambler to voluntarily self-exclude him or herself from visiting the casino. To further help, we work with the New Mexico Gaming Control Board, the state agency responsible for regulating legalized gaming, and promote their statewide ban, which can be applied to all gaming facilities in the state.
We also review research on New Mexicans who gamble, in order to put educational messages and prevention efforts in front of frequent gamblers. Our members meet 11 months of the year to coordinate these outreach efforts. Many efforts and a great deal of money are being spent to prevent and treat compulsive gambling in New Mexico by the Native American-owned casinos, spent outside of governmental funding, and in direct support of those affected by an addiction.
Rebecca Beardsley is president of the Responsible Gaming Association of New Mexico, comprised of many of the state’s Native American tribes that include gaming operations among their business ventures.
While the New Mexico Lottery may have paid $70,250 to the state, the member tribes of the Responsible Gaming Association of New Mexico contributed more than $1 million toward similar efforts this year.