Gambling News by Gambling Headquarters

Congressman Martin T. Meehan is pushing for federal legislation to fight the problems surrounding compulsive gambling. The Lowell Democrat is on the right track. But more needs to be done.Meehan is the chief sponsor of the Comprehensive Awareness of Problem Gambling Act of 2006. The bill would use federal money to study and combat problem gambling.States across the country have legalized gambling to reap billions in new revenue. Yet next to nothing is spent on helping those whose lives are ruined by gambling addiction.A CNHI News Service story published in The Eagle-Tribune reported that states take in $21 billion in taxes on the $136 billion spent annually on legal gambling in the United States. Yet states spend only $36 million on programs to help problem gamblers. That's less than one-fifth of 1 percent of the revenue states collect.A federal study seven years ago found that problem gambling causes an estimated $5 billion a year in social consequences. Clearly, states are reaping the rewards from gambling and ignoring the costs.