Gambling News by Gambling Headquarters

Slot-machine casinos are opening in Pennsylvania despite the fact that the state does not have a gambling-addiction program in place to handle an expected rise in compulsive gamblers seeking treatment. Although the slots parlors are required to advertise the existence of such services, the state has not set up a compulsive-gambling hot line or a procedure to subsidize gambling-addiction treatment services. Gene Boyle, who directs the state Health Department's Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Programs, says both are months away. In the meantime, he says the state will lean on existing providers, such as the Philadelphia-based Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania. The state's first slots parlor opened November 14th at the Mohegan Sun at Pocono Downs racetrack in northeastern Pennsylvania, and three more slots parlors are expected to open at racetracks in the next three months.