Saturday, September 16, 2006

Congressman Martin T. Meehan is pushing for federal legislation to fight the
problems surrounding compulsive gambling. The Lowell Democrat is on the
right track. But more needs to be done.Meehan is the chief sponsor of the
Comprehensive Awareness of Problem Gambling Act of 2006. The bill would use
federal money to study and combat problem gambling.States across the country
have legalized gambling to reap billions in new revenue. Yet next to nothing
is spent on helping those whose lives are ruined by gambling addiction.A
CNHI News Service story published in The Eagle-Tribune reported that states
take in $21 billion in taxes on the $136 billion spent annually on legal
gambling in the United States. Yet states spend only $36 million on programs
to help problem gamblers. That's less than one-fifth of 1 percent of the
revenue states collect.A federal study seven years ago found that problem
gambling causes an estimated $5 billion a year in social consequences.
Clearly, states are reaping the rewards from gambling and ignoring the
costs.