Are we being targeted?
“Go to any casino midday or mid-week and you’re going to find, overwhelmingly, patrons that are over 55. In many markets, they are aggressively and specifically marketed to. In the Midwest there are casino slot clubs that are for people 55 and older or 65 and older, and clubs where you can get discounts on your prescription meds,” Whyte says. “The thing that concerns us is the gaming industry spends all this time and money targeting this group and they don’t spend a comparable amount of money helping them gamble responsibly.”
Any addictive behavior has the potential to ravage lives, but a gambling addiction may not be evident until financial hardship really sets in. “With gambling, it’s harder to detect,” says Whyte. “There are no track marks. You can’t smell it on someone’s breath.”
Once a problem exists, getting help can be difficult. Says Whyte, “For an older person, if they’ve gone through their retirement savings, how are they going to get that money back? Do they call their alienated kids, who are upset that they just lost their inheritance?”
Drug interaction
Researchers at the Mayo Clinic found that the Dopamine agonists, a class of drugs used to treat Parkinson’s disease, may increase a person’s risk of developing a compulsive gambling problem. Though rare, there are documented cases of people who never gambled at all losing their entire savings within a matter of months after starting treatment for Parkinson’s. People often don’t recognize unusual behavior as a side effect of a medication. Always check with your doctor, if anything seems amiss—be it mental, physical, or behavioral.
A tax on the willing
What’s fueling the proliferation of gambling across the country? In an era where “tax” is a dirty word, legalized gambling such as lotteries offer states a tried and true way to raise money without raising taxes. Thomas Jefferson referred to lotteries as a tax on the willing. Lotteries have played a valuable role in America since the Revolutionary War when Ben Franklin and George Washington sponsored lotteries to fund building projects. Today, lotteries fund many worthy projects such as new schools, better roads, and improved social services.
Keep it fun
According to a 2000 poll conducted by Peter D. Hart Research Associates and The Luntz Research Companies for the American Gaming Association, 62% of older Americans see casinos as an “inexpensive day out” for someone on a fixed income.
Key to keeping it fun without becoming a problem is setting limits, sticking to those limits, and never gambling on credit.
Just as a glass of red wine may be beneficial to your health, there are potential benefits from gambling. Socializing is an important part of good mental health and the challenge involved in many games helps keep the brain engaged. Says Whyte, “One of the things you want to do is keep active cognitively such as trying to pay attention to the cards or the numbers. For healthy people, gambling could be a protective factor.”Editor’s note: For more information about problem gambling, contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline Network (800-522-4700) or visit www.ncpgambling.org
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