NC Lottery Recognizes Problem Gambling

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NC Lottery Recognizes Problem Gambling

Special Report - March 12, 2010
In recognition of National Problem Gambling Awareness Week (NPGAW), March 7-13, the North Carolina Education Lottery is calling attention to its problem gambling program. The state-run lottery is airing a $21,645 television ad campaign throughout the week, which can be viewed on YouTube. The message encourages gamblers to “play responsibly” and features the problem gambling hotline, which can be reached at (877) 718-5543. In 2009, 576 callers to the hotline reported problems controlling their gambling habit.

Although it is rarely talked about, it is estimated that between two and three percent of the American population suffers from a gambling addiction every year, according to NPGAW’s website. Revenues from legal gambling in the United States in 2002 amounted to $68.7 billion. Opponents of gambling say it is a vice that appeals disproportionately to those who already possess little financial means, contributes to societal dysfunction, and can become addictive. While almost all other gambling is illegal in most of North Carolina, the General Assembly passed a bill legalizing a state run “education” lottery in the summer of 2005. Since its inception, the lottery has grown, now selling almost $1.3 billion of lottery tickets last year.

“Many are glad to see the North Carolina Lottery devote an entire week to problem gambling, but it would better if the State did not encourage its citizens to gamble at all,” said Bill Brooks, president of the North Carolina Family Policy Council. “Our lottery has only been operating for five years, so we are just beginning to see the emergence of a large and growing population of compulsive gamblers in our state. The families that have a gambler know the problems they face, and unfortunately for them and for the state, these problems will continue to grow unless the gambler gets help. The best play is not to gamble at all.”