The Arizona Lottery is getting out of the business of providing help for problem gamblers.

Beginning in September, the Lottery’s problem gambling program, which was mandated by the Legislature in 1999, will be transferred to the Department of Gaming.

“The Lottery has expressed the opinion that there might be a more appropriate place to house a problem gambling program, rather than at an agency whose statutory charge is to maximize revenues for the public benefit…” Lottery spokeswoman Kevan Kaighn said.

The program, which includes a telephone helpline and counseling services at various behavioral health outlets, had been operating on $500,000 a year, but that was cut to $300,000 in this year’s state budget. In July, however, the program received its first quarterly payment — $103,000 — from Indian gaming revenues under Prop. 202. The addition of Prop. 202 funds, which provide an overall increase in funding, will enable the Gaming Department to improve the program, Christa Severns, agency spokeswoman, said.

“The Lottery did a good job, and we will provide a continuity of care,” she said. “There will be additions” to the program.

In addition to program funding, existing contracts and two staffers, the Gaming Department will inherit from the Lottery years of criticism from a private problem gambling organization.

“The state of Arizona has a miserable track record of trying to help Arizona’s approximately 86,000 problem gamblers,” said Don Hulen, executive director of the Arizona Council on Compulsive Gambling (ACCG) in an Aug. 19 news release. The nonprofit council was established in 1993 to help compulsive gamblers, and it has operated the Arizona Problem Gambling Helpline since 1994.

ACCG recently lost a bid to temporarily provide Lottery helpline service to Arizona residents after the current provider, Texas Council on Compulsive and Problem Gambling, announced it will close its doors Sept. 1.

Bensinger Dupont & Associates of Chicago will take over for the Texas organization until the Gaming Department selects a long-term provider.

Mr. Hulen said Arizonans should not have to call a helpline that’s staffed out of state.

“I have a huge ax to grind,” Mr. Hulen said in an interview. “But it’s not the [loss of the helpline contract].”

He said he lobbied the Legislature in support of funding the Lottery’s problem gambling program, but the Lottery did not spend all the money available for the program, and “thousands of problem gamblers went without services…”

Ms. Kaighn said the Lottery “has acknowledged and resolved past problems” with its treatment program, but added, “Pima County and other underserved or unserved areas need to be strengthened in the future.”

Previous problems with the program, she said, included improper billing practices by a treatment provider and few treatment opportunities for problem gamblers outside Maricopa and Pima counties. The program also had an intermittent interruption of its helpline service in 2000 for 13 days.

Ms. Kaighn said a substantial portion of the program funding in 2000 was reverted back to the state because the program, which had just begun, was delayed when ACCG withdrew its bid for training services, then protested a contract that was awarded to North American Training Institute.

Ms. Severns said the Gaming Department “is concerned” about Mr. Hulen’s long-standing accusations against the state program.

87,000 Residents Are Considered Problem Gamblers+

In a study conducted for the Lottery last year, it was reported that 2.2 per cent of Arizona adults, or more than 87,000, were problem gamblers. The total was .5 per cent below the national average.

“Problem gambling is a broad term that refers to all of the patterns of gambling behavior that compromise, disrupt or damage personal, family or vocational pursuits,” the study stated.

The study found that most problem gamblers in Arizona who are in need of help are likely to be white men between 35-54 years old who regularly buy Lottery tickets and visit casinos.

Ms. Severns said the department’s program is available to people with any gambling problem, including betting on horse races and dog races, although the pari-mutuel wagering industry is not required to provide funding for problem gambling.

Mr. Hulen also has criticized the Lottery for its use of advertising, saying the agency cannot simultaneously promote ticket sales and advertise a hotline to aid compulsive gamblers.

One lawmaker disagrees.

“Advertising is an important means of promoting a legitimate activity approved by our voters that produces revenue to benefit all of Arizona,” said Rep. Linda Lopez, D-Dist. 29, a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

“By using a portion of the revenue dollars to assist compulsive gamblers, we are recognizing that not all gamblers have the ability to control their behavior and are offering them means to do so,” she said.

Spending on Lottery advertising has not increased over the past four years, Ms. Kaighn said. The Lottery’s advertising budget, which has been running between $6 million and $7 million is capped at 4 per cent of annual revenues, but appropriated at 2.7 per cent. —