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March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month, and a gambling counselor and former problem gambler wants to see more done to help those who are suffering.
Dr. Harry Levant, an internationally certified gambling counselor and Doctor of Law and Policy, spoke at the 17th Annual Michigan Gambling Disorder Symposium last Thursday to discuss the need for a comprehensive public health response in regard to responsible gambling and gambling addiction.
Levant believes more needs to be done to prevent gambling addiction, and that one month devoted to awareness is simply not enough.
“It is my fundamental belief that prevention is the best form of treatment.”
“Every day should be Problem Gambling Awareness Day. Every day should be a day that we can talk about this issue…the need for public health reform is a 12-month mission.”
Gambling addiction is about ‘dopamine, not dough’
Levant speaks passionately on the issue as he is in recovery from gambling addiction.
A former lawyer with a private practice, Levant used money from his clients to fulfill his addiction, almost to the tune of $2 million. Levant said he had no idea how much he had stolen from his clients until it was actually told to him in a court of law.
Found guilty of 13 felonies and 1 misdemeanor, Levant can no longer practice law. However, he devoted his life to helping those suffering from gambling addiction. Levant has been in recovery and abstaining from all forms of gambling for nearly 11 years.
Levant noted during his presentation that the public often mistakenly assumes that gambling addiction is driven by a desire to win money. In fact, the more powerful motivation is the feeling the gambler experiences while playing.
In 2013, the American Psychiatric Association listed gambling disorder as an addiction on the level of heroin, opioids, tobacco, alcohol and more. Levant noted in his presentation just what is pushing these gambling addicts, which he summarizes as: “It’s the dopamine, not the dough.”
“Money is the equivalent of what a needle is to inject a heroin user. It’s how you get your action.”
Problematic emphasis on ‘personal responsibility’
One of Levant’s biggest issues with the current treatment system in the US is that it assumes the individual will choose to seek out the help they need.
“The responsible gaming model puts the entire onus on the individual. It distracts away from the need to regulate the addictive nature of online gambling and gambling as a known addictive product.”
Levant noted 1-800-GAMBLER is available nationwide for those struggling with gambling. However, he said it’s limited in the help it provides. He feels it was designed in part by the industry to identify problem gamblers to make the companies look as if they cared about providing help.
He says that treatment services that the hotline refers callers to are too limited and lack full-term care options.
“I am a fan of 1-800-GAMBLER in theory, a number where people can call and get help. We need it…But the system that currently exists as part of the responsible gaming model is fundamentally broken and flawed. You need to be able to call 1-800-GAMBLER and get access to immediate state-of-the-art treatment not funded by the gambling industry, different state by state, but be able to go to any and the best clinician and the best treatment centers that you can have access to, full stop. This is a full-fledged addiction. The days of treating it different than drug and alcohol have to come to an end.”
The Reno Model addresses the idea of problem gambling is and how to address it on a national scale. However, Levant notes the model used no statistical information. It believes in four keys:
- The benefits of gambling exceed the societal costs.
- The gambling industry and government share responsibility to inform the public of risks.
- Each person must ultimately be responsible for their individual choices.
- Only a small number of people suffer harm, and gambling revenue will pay for treatment.
Levant obviously takes issue with this model.
“That is the moral equivalent of big tobacco saying, ‘let us do what we want, as long as we pay for chemotherapy and hospice.’”
How the public health model would change things
Levant says he doesn’t want to see gambling outlawed. However, he believes the rapid expansion of legal gambling creates a need for tighter regulation. In Michigan, the range of options includes casinos, sports betting, horse racing, poker, and the lottery. All of these exist in retail and online form.
“I am not opposed to the legalization of sports gambling. Anyone who says I am or who says a public health approach is wrong, I am for the properly regulated legalization of gambling. What we have today is the Wild Wild West.”
If it were up to Levant, he would see the government get more involved in gambling addiction reform.
He believes similar to how tobacco and alcohol was addressed by lawmakers, gambling needs the same.
“We have done this with tobacco. We have done this with alcohol. We now need to do it with gambling, because nobody wins unless everybody wins.”
That would see stricter policies on advertising across all media forms, as well as clearer warning signs required from all gambling operators.
Along with more services available to those needing immediate treatment, a greater focus would also be on prevention. Levant says the key is to treat people exhibiting warning signs before the crisis occurs.
“What the public health model says is, ‘wait a minute, I don’t want to just fish people out of the river after they’re drowning. I want to create some guardrails so that people don’t fall into that river in the first place.’”
“Public health says, let’s pull back, because when we pull back, we begin to understand an issue with more clarity, and it’s the things we didn’t look for in the first place that help us really understand the complexity of the issue.”
One piece of legislation currently being discussed in the nation’s capital is The Safe Bet Act. This policy would address federal standards for sports betting operators to meet to address the public health issues resulting from the legalization of the industry.
Gambling addiction impact more than just those with the problem
Levant provided some statistics to back up his push for problem gambling health reform.
A 2021 study on gambling addiction and mental health highlighted the overlap between gambling and suicidal ideation. It found that half of people struggling with a gambling problem will contemplate suicide. One in five will attempt it. Those rates are even higher for adults under 25.
The same study found that for every instance of gambling addiction, 8 to 10 additional people connected to the sufferer will experience some form of second-hand harm.
According to a 2024 study on the financial consequences of legalized sports gambling, states with online sports betting have a 28% increase in bankruptcy filings.
As Levant noted, gambling is more accessible to the public than ever. Mobile phones are able to provide online sports betting in 29 states, and online casinos available in seven.
“You don’t want to have a close, intimate relationship with your neighborhood drug dealer.”
“There’s going to be a need for the federal government to get involved. This is more than any one state can handle on its own.”
Other Michigan problem gambling services
Aside from 1-800-GAMBLER, Michigan also provides additional service options for those needing help with problem gambling.
Michigan has its own RG Hotline at 1-888-223-3044.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services also provides a toll-free hotline at 1-800-270-7117. Like the national helpline, it can direct callers to available services for problem gambling.
The Michigan Gaming Control Board has launched a website that aligned with its award-winning RG advertising campaign, “Don’t Regret The Bet.”
There, users can find information on how best to spot problem gambling, self-exclusion options, and resources for help to deal with the addiction.
