|
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
|
State
Rep. Dante Santoni |
|
Santoni resolution highlights problem gambling, available treatment
HARRISBURG, March 10 – The Pennsylvania House of Representatives today adopted a resolution sponsored by Rep. Dante Santoni, D-Berks, which observes March 7-13 as Problem Gambling Awareness Week in Pennsylvania.
Santoni, who is chairman of the House Gaming Oversight Committee, said he introduced the resolution (H.R. 648) in conjunction with a national effort to highlight that gambling can be a problem for some individuals and that treatment for it is available.
"While legalizing casino gaming or any form of gambling in Pennsylvania did not create problem gamblers, there are individual stories of men and women who suffer from a debilitating addiction to gambling," Santoni said.
"The state should do what it can to acknowledge and treat those who suffer from gambling addiction, just as we do for those addicted to drugs or alcohol and the like. Problem gambling is treatable, and treatment is effective in minimizing the harm to individuals, their families and society as a whole."
The National Council of Problem Gambling reports that 2 percent to 3 percent of the American population will have a gambling problem in any given year. This week marks the council's eighth annual national Problem Gambling Awareness Week campaign, which seeks to educate the public about problem gambling and the availability and effectiveness of treatment programs.
Santoni said the recently enacted table games law aims to help problem gamblers and their families by investing $3 million annually for gambling addiction and demanding accountability in treatment programs.
The law requires the state Department of Health to develop a strategic plan for the prevention and treatment of compulsive and problem gambling.
In addition to state-sponsored toll-free hotlines for problem gamblers, the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board has a self-exclusion program that allows a person to request to be banned from all legalized gaming activities and to be prohibited from collecting any winnings, recovering any losses or accepting complimentary gifts or services or any other thing of value at any licensed facility in the Commonwealth.
A person may have his or her own name placed on the self-exclusion list by submitting, in person, a completed request for self exclusion to the PCBG headquarters in Harrisburg.
Santoni said residents who have a gambling problem or know someone who does can call the Council on Compulsive Gambling in Pennsylvania toll free at 1-800-848-1880 or the state Department of Health 24-hour Compulsive Gambling Hotline toll free at 1-877-565-2112 for help and treatment options.
###bfg/2010/agh
l:'print'releases'problemgambling.126
|
CONTACT: Barbara Grill |