Experts warn of rise in problem gambling in Oklahoma

Gambling in Oklahoma has contributed more than $184 million to state government revenues, but it has come at a cost to tens of thousands of Oklahomans who have become problem gamblers, experts say.

Up to 200,000 Oklahomans — from a 70-something lady dressed in her Sunday best to the college student hunched over his computer — are considered problem or pathological gamblers, said Wiley Harwell, director of the Oklahoma Association for Problem and Compulsive Gambling.

Oklahomans have lost their homes, spouses and retirement funds to gambling, said Jo Ann Pearce, executive director of A Chance to Change, a state gambling treatment contractor that has seen a 50 percent increase this year in demand for services.

"It’s not uncommon to see hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenditures” by gamblers, Harwell said.

And while the state has seen a windfall in terms of revenues and jobs, very little of that money has been used to help problem gamblers.

A small fraction

American Indian gaming topped the contributions to state revenues with almost $113 million. The lottery came in a distant second at nearly $69 million while horse racing contributed $2.7 million.

The gambling industry also provides jobs and overall added $2.5 billion to the state economy last year, Harwell said.

But the state spends a small fraction, $750,000, of state gaming revenue each year to treat problem and pathological gambling. That money comes from unclaimed lottery winnings, $500,000, and tribal gaming centers and casinos, $250,000.

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