Gambling spurs social, legal woes

Of interest about financial problems by gamblers in a nearby state, the Arizona Office of Problem Gambling said in a report about gamblers who sought help from it that 12 percent had automobiles repossessed and 11 percent had lost homes. It said 88 percent had debts of more than $10,000 — and 10 percent had debts of more than $100,000.

The National Research Council reported in 1999 that "roughly one-fourth to one-third of gamblers in treatment in Gamblers Anonymous report the loss of their jobs due to gambling," while the Arizona Office of Problem Gambling said that among gamblers who sought help from it, 21 percent were actually unemployed.

• The homeless: The National Gambling Impact Study Commission said that in a survey of 1,100 clients at Rescue Missions across America, 18 percent cited gambling as a cause of their homelessness.

It said that interviews with more than 7,000 homeless people in Las Vegas showed 20 percent reported a gambling problem. But the commission added, "Whether this is caused by gambling or by other factors related to addictive behavior is unclear."

• Resorting to crime: Several national studies have linked pathological gambling to increased crime.

As the National Research Council wrote in 1999, "As access to money becomes more limited, gamblers often resort to crime in order to pay debts, appease bookies, maintain appearances and garner more money to gamble."

In the survey of 400 Gamblers Anonymous members, 57 percent admitted stealing to finance their gambling. They reported stealing an average of $135,000 each.

The National Opinion Research Center said in 1999 it found that a third of problem and pathological gamblers had been arrested at some time, compared to 10 percent of low-risk gamblers and 4 percent of non-gamblers. Further, it said 23 percent of pathological gamblers had been imprisoned at some time, as had 13 percent of problem gamblers.

The Arizona Office of Problem Gambling reported that of gamblers who came to it for help, 38 percent had written bad checks and 14 percent had committed other thefts or embezzlement.

In nationwide hearings in 1998 and 1999, the National Gambling Impact Study Commission heard testimony about crime by pathological gamblers that included some shocking examples.

In one case, a Detroit man faked the kidnapping of his son to pay a $50,000 gambling debt.

An Iowa hospital employee embezzled $151,000 for gambling.

And a Louisiana man robbed and murdered six elderly people to fund his gambling.

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