Survey: One-fourth of Kansans negatively impacted by gambling

A survey of Kansas adults revealed one-fourth of the population could suffer at the hands of problem gamblers and pointed to the necessity of a more forceful public awareness campaign highlighting prevention and treatment, officials said Wednesday.

The analysis was presented to members of the state's problem gambling task forces and other service providers asked by the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, or KDADS, to provide input on how to spend $400,000 in new state funding in response to a spike in gambling activity at casinos in Dodge City, Mulvane and Kansas City, Kan.

Doug Ballou, with the firm of Whitworth Ballou in Kansas City, Mo., said the survey of 1,600 adults in Kansas indicated 9 percent were at risk of contracting a gambling disorder. More significantly, he said, was a finding 26 percent of Kansas adults could be affected negatively by uncontrolled gambling by a family member, friend or acquaintance.

He said the incidence of problems with gambling appear to be most prevalent in south-central and southwest Kansas. The demographic profile of people likely to experience complications ranged from teenagers to retirees in Kansas rather than the assumed 35 to 44 age group, he said.

"There's never really going to be enough money," Ballou said. "We can ill-afford to send mixed messages."

Other findings of the telephone survey:

¦ One in six Kansas gamblers said they gambled to win money to pay bills or mask everyday problems.

¦ The most common form of gambling in Kansas was the lottery with 47 percent of adults playing in the past year.

¦ One-fifth of Kansans who never or seldom gamble indicate they were deterred by the physical distance to a casino rather than lack of interest in gaming.

Results of the telephone survey were converted to raw numbers of Kansans to reveal 20,000 had repeated relationship problems tied to gambling, 50,000 were obsessed about gambling, 90,000 bet more than they could afford to lose, 100,000 want to cut back time or money spent on betting, and 320,000 were negatively affected by gambling behaviors of others.

Jean Holthaus, manager of problem gambling services at KDADS, said stakeholders involved in creating a new strategic plan to assist troubled gamblers recommended more robust advertising about potential dangers, expansion of out-patient treatment, work force training for addicts and an improved hotline.

The at-risk population in Kansas warrants a campaign to raise awareness about gambling addiction and to inform people about treatment options available through the state, she said.

"The stakeholders said that," Holthaus said. "The phone survey would support that."

In previous years, as little as $740,000 was dedicated to the statewide effort to counter the influence of gambling at the three casinos sanctioned by the state of Kansas. Attempts were made by some lawmakers to reduce these expenditures, but the 2013 Legislature voted to expand funding to about $1.2 million.