Column – Gambling’s many forms have common thread: addiction – Smithfield Times

If gambling’s your thing, Virginia’s determined to scratch your itch.

It took a half century of evolving General Assembly attitudes — and votes to match — but the Old Dominion has now fully joined the states that have given the official nod to roulette wheels, one-armed bandits and all of the other methods and mechanics designed to collect money from those who think they can beat the system.

No need to travel to Nevada; you can give away your money right here at home and save the airfare. It must be admitted, though, that there’s far more glitz per block in Las Vegas than there’ll ever be in downtown Portsmouth, Danville or — eventually — Norfolk.

Virginia’s embrace of gambling started innocently enough. Just ask American Legions across the state. The General Assembly legalized charitable gaming — spell that B-I-N-G-O — in 1973 and, truth be known, that probably hasn’t caused any huge problems. What it has done is raise a ton of money for local charitable causes and provided entertainment for thousands of people across the state each week without seriously jeopardizing their modest retirement funds.

What really brought gambling to Virginia, though, was the lottery. Launched in 1987, it has provided millions of dollars to public education under a General Assembly mandate that the funds go there. There have been concerns ever since the Virginia Lottery was established over who plays the lottery and why, but the money collection system is widely liked because it puts a significant part of the education tax burden on volunteer contributors. That they happen to be generally the state’s poorest has never seemed to be terribly troubling. Simply put, it may be a regressive tax, but it’s a voluntary one and that makes it OK.

A 2011 study by the “Journal of Gambling Studies” reviewed national data on who plays the lottery nationwide. It found that the “poor are still the leading patron of the lottery and even the people who were made to feel poor buy lotteries.” By that time, with nationwide lotteries in full swing, the study also found that young people were increasingly participating.

The Virginia Lottery was a step forward for gambling, but not the private variety. That would begin in 1989 when wagered horse racing was legalized.

In 2018, the Assembly took another step into deeper waters by introducing lottery subscriptions as well as mobile apps to make it easier to dump money into the system.

The big plunge came a short time later when the state set standards for localities that wanted casinos, and put in place the mechanism for local referenda to allow them. In November 2020, Bristol, Danville, Portsmouth and Norfolk voters all approved casinos in their cities. Richmond voters said “no.”

To their credit, legislators of both political parties have acknowledged that legalizing a potpourri of gambling outlets has heightened the problem of gambling addiction. Since the state unleashed the problem, legislators feel obligated to do something about it.

The General Assembly last year created a Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Advisory Committee, and is now studying creation of a Virginia Gaming Commission, according to a story published recently by the Virginia Mercury, a well-respected online daily news report.

Brianne Doura-Schawohl, an acknowledged expert in the field of problem gamblers, testified before a joint subcommittee studying the proposed commission.

As quoted by the Mercury, Doura-Schawohl told the subcommittee that “problem gambling is not just a personal problem; it’s a family, community and state problem. One individual that struggles with gambling-related harm negatively impacts eight to 10 other individuals.”

She told the committee that substance (drug and alcohol) abuse is 338 times better funded in Virginia than problem gambling, even though substance abuse is only seven times more prevalent than gambling problems.

As gambling opportunities are made more convenient, problem gambling will increase. But Virginia families facing gambling problems can be reassured that the state’s got their backs — well, not quite, but almost, maybe before long.

Creating problems often goes a lot faster than fixing them.

John Edwards is publisher emeritus of The Smithfield Times. His email address is j.branchedwards@gmail.com.