In fiscal 2013, a total of 1,838 Oklahomans called a national hotline seeking help related to compulsive gambling – a nearly 60 percent spike over the previous year.
Then, in 2014, the number of calls fell sharply to 1,310, according to HeartLine, an Oklahoma City call center that fields calls from Oklahomans to the National Problem Gambling Helpline (800-522-4700).
The sudden drop perplexes Danielle Harris, coordinator for HeartLine.
“We have not come up with a theory yet,” she said, adding the drop is a national trend. “It could be because (problem gamblers) don’t have access to resources. They may not know about our hotline.”
The conundrum also reflects a larger issue: No one really knows how bad compulsive gambling is in Oklahoma.
What is clear is that a decade after casino gaming was approved in the state, gambling has boomed.
The total amount being wagered has climbed every year, reaching $3.7 billion in 2012, according to the most recent Casino City Indian Gaming Industry Report.
The state now has well over 100 casinos with more than 60,000 gaming machines – operations that yielded more than $122 million in fees to the state last fiscal year.
In the midst of this plenty, the state’s problem gambling office also got a raise – $250,000 this year, to about $1 million, to help address issues associated with gambling addiction.
The following Q&A addresses what’s known, and not known, about addictive gambling in Oklahoma. The issue could play a role in the state’s negotiation of new gaming compacts with Native American tribes before current compacts expire in 2020. The tribes are expected to push for agreements that will allow them to offer more Las Vegas-style gambling.
Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit, nonpartisan journalism service that produces in-depth and investigative content on a range of public-policy issues facing the state. For more Oklahoma Watch content, go to www.oklahomawatch.org.
