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Two national gambling industry conventions get under way in Kansas City this week.
Nearly 500 people are expected for the three-day conference of the National Council on Problem Gambling that opens today at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown hotel. Two seminars set for Saturday, including one open to the public, will examine the advent of legalized gambling in Kansas and the implications of state-owned casinos there.
A five-day meeting of the North American Gaming Regulators Association opens Saturday at the Westin Crown Center hotel for an expected 200 state gaming commission officials, law enforcement officers and others.
Missouri Gaming Commission enforcement chief Clarence Greeno on Tuesday is to report on the state’s regulatory experiment and concerns with “downloadable” slot machines that are expected to be the industry standard in a few years.
Regulators also will discuss a national wave of unlicensed Texas hold ’em poker tournaments being held to raise money for charity, plus the latest developments in casino cheating and Internet gambling.
Phil Hogen, chairman of the National Indian Gaming Commission, is expected to address regulators on a federal court ruling that has reduced the federal agency’s oversight of tribal casino gambling.
The 35-year-old National Council on Problem Gambling is host for the largest and oldest conference of its kind.
Problem gambling counselors and others will participate in more than 50 seminars and workshops that will explore the latest research on the cause and treatment of problem gambling. Various sessions will look closely at problems unique to college campuses, American Indian populations and inner-city youth. Another will examine links between problem gambling and compulsive sexual activity.
One panel discussion will feature several recovering gambling addicts. “Their involvement in the conference will provide a unique perspective on how to improve treatment and to reach out to others who need assistance,” said Keith Whyte, executive director of the council.
Whyte will lead a panel discussion Saturday morning titled “Casino Gambling Comes to Kansas: Politics, Profits, and Problem Gambling.” A 5 p.m. session on Saturday is open to the public at no charge and will examine proposed funding to combat problem gambling in Kansas under legislation approved this spring by state lawmakers.
The Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services has cited a recent national study that ranked Kansas 25th among 26 states surveyed for public funding of problem gambling initiatives. The state currently contributes around $100,000 a year, mostly from Kansas Lottery revenues. Under the new law, Kansas would earmark 2 percent of state casino revenues for problem gambling help, which could elevate the state to the top of the funding list.
The same study ranked Missouri at No. 18, with $489,000 in casino revenues earmarked for the state’s free counseling and treatment programs for residents.
Kansas may already have a population of youthful problem gamblers. The Rehabilitation Services office also recently disclosed results of its 2007 annual survey of schoolchildren between the sixth and 12th grades that found double-digit participation in various gambling activities.
A total of 22.2 percent of all male students and 6.7 percent of females said they had gambled on something in the past 30 days.
Around one male in three gambled on sports or card playing during the past year, while one female in four gambled on bingo or lottery games. Around 5 percent of all students said they had gambled on the Internet at least once during the past year.
The public, at no charge daily through Sunday morning, is invited to visit the problem gambling conference’s bookstore and exhibit booths in the Marriott hotel’s second-floor lobby. One booth will be staffed by volunteers with the Kansas Coalition on Problem Gambling to provide information about gambling issues.
Registration at the door is available at both conferences. Rates for the problem gambling meetings are $175 a day or $625 for the weekend. Registration is $600 for the regulators conference. Admission to some sessions is restricted to sworn law enforcement personnel.
Conference sponsors include the Midwest Consortium on Problem Gambling and Substance Abuse and is hosted by the Missouri Alliance to Curb Problem Gambling and the Missouri Council on Problem Gambling Concerns Inc.
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Missouri’s programs
People calling 1-888-BETSOFF can get referred to free gambling counseling, and people can ask to be put on a list of people who can’t enter the state’s casinos.
Calls to BETSOFFhelp line Voluntary exclusions
1998 871 356
1999 1,034 596
2000 1,738 1,093
2001 2,846 1,403
2002 2,889 1,290
2003 3,339 1,367
2004 3,527 1,506
2005 2,593 1,696
2006 1,834 1,553
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To learn more
•For more conference information, go to www.nagra.org and www.ncpgambling.org .
•For more information about problems and sources of help in Kansas and Missouri, go to www.888betsoff.org and www. ksproblemgambling.org.
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