Gambling expansion fails again in Alabama Legislature; opponents continue to warn of dangers
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As another session of the Alabama Legislature nears its end, several gambling expansion bills have once again failed to progress, a victory for those who warn the dangers and social costs of gambling outweigh any financial benefits such an expansion might produce.
“The leadership in both houses have decided to stop pushing all gambling for the 2022 regular session,” reported Alabama Citizens Action Program in an April 1 update. “This is good news … [but] the pro-gambling forces will not stop, so you can expect the push for gambling to resume next year after newly-elected legislators take office.”
Another organization pointing out the dangers of gambling expansion is the Alabama Council on Compulsive Gambling. The ACCG considers itself a gambling-neutral organization but offers assistance to those who struggle with gambling.
According to the council’s president, Jack Galassini, the ACCG has two primary purposes: providing help for any Alabama citizen addicted to gambling and training professional counselors to become certified problem gambling counselors, ready to assist those in need.
Galassini noted the major cause of gambling addiction is a person’s inability to gamble responsibly.
“Ninety-five percent of people who gamble do so for fun and recreation,” he said. “Five percent struggle with addiction.”
Gambling also is not necessarily about the desire to make money, Galassini added.
“It all becomes the thrill of the win, and in many cases it is not about the money aspect. Sadly, we are starting to see younger people getting addicted to gaming and that is the perfect precursor to other types of gambling.
“In the past 10 years that our council has been in existence, Internet betting, sports betting and online casinos have joined the other ranks of gambling,” Galassini said.
Increase in gambling
Besides online gambling, casinos, card rooms, sports betting, fantasy sports, dog tracks and the lottery all can lead to addiction.
According to Galassini, the American Psychiatric Association has categorized gambling, which he described as a “hidden addiction,” as being as serious as alcohol or drug addiction.
“The signs of compulsive gambling are the person is unable to set limits,” Galassini noted. “They gamble with money they cannot afford to lose and they lie to cover up gambling.
“People need to know the signs that they may be addicted and to know where and how to access help.
“We have certified problem gambling counselors across the state that assist any person with a gambling addiction,” Galassini added. “We are a part of the 211 social services helpline, which allows persons to contact us 24 hours a day, seven days per week. We also offer a weekly group, called Gambgroup, at no cost to persons with the addiction, with a certified counselor.”
Galassini said another aspect of gambling addiction would come into play if some or all forms of it were made legal in Alabama.
Thousands would be affected
A commission on gambling was convened in 2020, he explained, which showed that if the full gambit of gambling were to be introduced, including sports betting, table games and the lottery, as many as 67,000 people would be affected and 5% of those are likely to form an addiction.
Currently the State of Alabama provides no funding to address or prevent problem gambling or treatment for those with an addiction, Galassini lamented.
“The Senate gambling bill has funds allocated to address problem gambling,” he noted. “The house lottery bill also has funds to address treatment.”
Les Bernal, national director of Stop Predatory Gambling,
“Predatory gambling is when the state partners with powerful interests,” Bernal said. “There’s no protection for the people when the state gets involved. Fifty percent of gambling profits come from citizens that are addicted to gambling.”
Bernal, who considers commercial gambling a form of financial fraud, said if online gambling such as sports betting is legalized, it would be like “opening a casino in everyone’s home, everyone’s phone, everyone’s computer.”
“You can guarantee you’re going to lose your money. You’re guaranteed to lose,” Bernal declared. “Our mission is to show the truth behind commercial gambling to protect people. We are called to love our neighbor as ourselves. This is the opposite of that.”
