Slot-machine casinos are opening in Pennsylvania despite the fact that the
state does not have a gambling-addiction program in place to handle an
expected rise in compulsive gamblers seeking treatment. Although the slots
parlors are required to advertise the existence of such services, the state
has not set up a compulsive-gambling hot line or a procedure to subsidize
gambling-addiction treatment services. Gene Boyle, who directs the state
Health Department’s Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Programs, says both are
months away. In the meantime, he says the state will lean on existing
providers, such as the Philadelphia-based Council on Compulsive Gambling of
Pennsylvania. The state’s first slots parlor opened November 14th at the
Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs racetrack in northeastern Pennsylvania, and
three more slots parlors are expected to open at racetracks in the next
three months.