A Message From the Executive Director
Problem Gambling Awareness Month
“Be Informed – Be Empowered”
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Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey Executive Director Felicia Grondin is joined by Council Board President Fred W. Hogan at the State House in Trenton to greet state legislators during the March observance of Problem Gambling Awareness Month. |
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While March welcomes the change of seasons, it is also deeply identified with the annual NCAA basketball tournament, known as March Madness. For people with a gambling addiction or in recovery from such an addiction, March Madness is rife with temptation. Unfortunately, the number of people with such a problem is growing due to the abundance of gambling apps coupled with the cascade of gambling advertisements. For the problem gambler in recovery, carrying one’s phone, with easy access to these gambling platforms, is akin to someone struggling with an alcohol addiction carrying around a bottle of vodka – it is a recipe for disaster.
This year, the theme we chose for PGAM was “Be Informed – Be Empowered,” embodying the philosophy that by providing information people are better equipped to make smart, informed decisions to prevent or address a gambling problem. As the CCGNJ does throughout the year, we made presentations throughout the state, hosted webinars exploring various gambling issues, as well as maintaining a week-long presence at the State House in Trenton to discuss concerns and raise awareness with our policy makers.
At the State House, we spoke with legislators about the perfect storm of problem gambling caused by the volume of betting ads and easy access to place wagers, on both sporting events and casino games, simply by using a smartphone. We were honored to have discussions with Senator Richard Cody (former Acting Governor), Senator Jon Bramnick, Senator Shirley Turner, Senator Andrew Zwicker, and Assemblywoman Aura Dunn.
The rise in gambling – especially sports betting – is evident in the increased wagering on the NFL title game that has occurred since such betting was legalized in 2018. In 2019, the amount of legal SportsBook bets placed on the NFL’s championship was $35 million; this year, wagering totaled just under $144 million, four times higher than the prior year.
But there is hope. We at the CCGNJ are here to ensure that support and recovery is available to people with a gambling problem and their loved ones. Our helpline, 800-GAMBLER, is available 24/7 and provides information about treatment, virtual and in-person Gamblers Anonymous and Gam-Anon meetings, gambling self-exclusion and a great deal more. So please remember, if you know someone who is struggling with a gambling problem, please call us at 1-800-GAMBLER. We provide support, treatment and hope.
Warm Regards –
Felicia Grondin, MPA, CPM
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Alcohol Awareness Month Puts Focus
on Long-time Gambling, Drinking Link
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April is Alcohol Awareness Month, following March’s Problem Gambling Awareness Month. The sequence may be coincidental, but given the longstanding ties between the two, it is certainly pertinent. The link between problem gambling and alcohol misuse is well-established; wherever there is one disorder, the other is often close-by. The combined toll of this co-addiction on individuals and their families can be devastating and has, unfortunately, worsened during the past few years.
The image of a gambler in a casino being plied with alcohol is a somewhat outdated portrayal of how betting and drinking go hand-in-hand. With online gambling, it’s more likely that a person may be drinking and betting in the privacy of his or her home. The COVID pandemic further contributed to people living in isolation and drinking and betting more frequently online. What is unchanged is how this co-addiction can destroy lives if not interrupted.
Research from the New York Council on Problem Gambling illustrates the close correlation between gambling and drinking: They cite a national study that finds 73 percent of people with a gambling problem also have an alcohol problem (a.k.a. alcoholism).
As with all addictions, alcoholism or problem gambling can take over a person’s life. But if an individual has a co-occurring alcoholism and gambling disorder, the consequences are compounded. One indication of a person with an addiction is that the individual will lose interest in relationships and activities they cherished. Relationships with one’s spouse, children, parents, and friends will, little by little, fall by the wayside. Because of this, problem gambling and drinking can shatter lives and families.
During March's Problem Gambling Awareness observance, CCGNJ Executive Director Felicia Grondin made presentations throughout the state, including one before the Governor’s Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. This presentation outlined what problem gambling has in common with other addictions and the way it greatly differs. Unlike someone with an alcohol or drug addiction, it is difficult to identify a disordered gambler since there are no outward physical signs of a problem. For this reason, problem gambling is known as the “hidden addiction.”
The state is beginning to witness epidemic levels of gambling activity, especially in the area of sports betting. New Jersey’s sports betting wagers broke the $1 billion mark yet again for the sixth time in March since last year. With the increased accessibility of gambling on smartphones and the excessive gambling television and radio advertisements, the Council has been reacting to a substantial wave of activity. Given that both alcohol use and gambling are legal, it makes for easy access and there is more opportunity to develop a related problem. Further compounding this issue is that while alcohol advertising is relatively limited since it is circumscribed by law, there is currently no limitation on gambling advertisements and they appear in an unending stream, on websites, social media, television, and radio broadcasts.
CCGNJ has proposed reforms to counter the volume of gambling ads, which include placing caps on advertising and warning labels such as the Surgeon General warning that appears on cigarette packaging.
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Governor, Lottery Help Deliver PGAM Message |
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CCGNJ Executive Director Felicia Grondin is joined by James Carey, Executive Director of the New Jersey Lottery, to mark Problem Gambling Awareness Month. Governor Phil Murphy also took part in the March observance by issuing a Proclamation designating March Problem Gambling Awareness Month in New Jersey. |
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The Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey received the support of both the state’s Chief Executive and the head of the New Jersey Lottery during Problem Gambling Awareness Month. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued a Proclamation declaring March 2022 Problem Gambling Awareness Month in New Jersey. “We are pleased to support this initiative and to continue to work with the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey (CCGNJ) to convey the message of responsible play to the gaming public,” said New Jersey Lottery Executive Director James Carey.
“This year the Lottery and the Council are working together to promote the theme of “Be Informed – Be Empowered.” “Promoting responsible play is a part of our everyday practice at the Lottery,” Carey continued. “The messages ‘Must be 18 or older to buy a lottery ticket. Please play responsibly’ and ‘If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800- GAMBLER®,’ are printed on the back of every Lottery ticket. These same messages are included on the Lottery’s website and in all of our advertising and social media postings and on retailer terminal screens throughout the state.”
It is important for members of the community to recognize the warning signs indicating that gambling might be developing into a problem and to learn more about where to go for help if they think they or someone close begins to exhibit any of those warning signs. As part of their efforts, the Lottery and the CCGNJ developed a video to raise awareness about Problem Gambling Awareness Month and to provide information about the help available both locally and nationally for anyone who may experience a gambling problem. The video appears on the “Responsible Play” page of the Lottery’s website and can be viewed at NJ Lottery | "Be Informed - Be Empowered" Problem Gambling Awareness Campaign | March 2022 - YouTube
“We are pleased to be partnering with the Lottery to promote the importance of responsible gaming,” said CCGNJ Executive Director Felicia Grondin. “Unlike drugs and alcohol addiction, a gambling addiction is not always easily recognizable. Like other addictions, however, it, too, can be successfully treated. The Council continually works to address the unique challenges facing those with gambling problems. Gambling disorders, like any addictive behavior, affects the lives of individuals and those close to them. It is never too early – or too late – to get advice and assistance when gambling of any kind might be getting out of control.
“Observation of this month,” Ms. Grondin said, “is part of a national effort to spread the word that there is help for those with gambling problems,in addition to their families. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-GAMBLER. We offer support, treatment, and hope.”
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Seton Hall Partners with CCGNJ
on Student Betting Assessment
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The Council on Compulsive Gambling on New Jersey partnered with Seton Hall University’s Center on Market Research this spring to assess how widespread a problem student gambling is, with a focus on Greek-involved undergraduates. The Council worked with a group of graduate and undergraduate students to develop a survey on college gambling. The outcome will help inform the Council’s response to campus gambling.
The survey comprises 21 questions and was disseminated among 325 New Jersey colleges and universities. The findings offered some surprises about college gambling practices. Perhaps the most troubling finding was that 56 percent of those surveyed said the gamble every day. Another quarter of the respondents said they gamble two or three days each week, basically every other day. A large majority (92 percent) said they were likely to return gambling within a month of their previous gambling experience.
Given that these bettors are college students, the amounts of bets placed is somewhat surprising. Asked about the amount wagered per bet, the second most common response students gave was up to $100.
As far as the type of gambling in which students engage, sports betting and playing the lottery were tied for the most common, totaling 9 percent each. In-person and online casinos each were preferred by 17 percent of student respondents.
A large percentage expressed interest in accessing resources to manage their gambling. Just under a quarter (24 percent) said they would utilize one-on-one counseling to control their gambling. 23 percent said they would attend gambling treatment programs. Another unexpected finding was the high percent of students who, when asked if they ever wanted to stop gambling completely, said yes: 72 percent.
CCGNJ has worked with Seton Hall on past surveys related to youth gambling. The Market Research Center students have done excellent job and produced creative power points for the Council and all of their business partners to use in presenting the findings. The Council on Compulsive Gambling is very grateful to the team of students that produced enlightening information with the utmost professionalism.
An added benefit of the project is that the college radio stations of Seton Hall and Stockton University have begun airing PSAs about problem gambling and where to find help, including our 1-800-GAMBLER helpline. The Council is looking to expand on this effort by running PSAs on more college stations.
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Story of Recovery Rooted in Humility |
The past three decades in recovery from gambling addiction have afforded Lee a blessed life, a rebirth that occurred just before he turned 34. Lee's adolescence and early adulthood were filled warnings from loved ones and even a sign from above to stop gambling, all of which he dismissed. It took the combination of an ultimatum from his long-time girlfriend and finally hearing what was in his heart that enabled him to put a stop to his betting.
Lee (an alias) describes his family as "salt of the earth Italians from Newark." Within his close-knit family were a pair of uncles who saw in their teenage nephew the makings of a serious gambling problem. At 13, he received a warning from them that he was headed for trouble with his betting. Lee, however, thought he knew better than his uncles.
When he was 17, he found a book in his car his mother had placed there: the White Book of Gamblers Anonymous. He didn’t embrace the book’s teachings at the time, but he kept it, along with a Bible. When he moved out of his parents’ home, the two books went with him, but it would be another 17 years until he took them to heart.
Before his gambling ceased, he would occasionally give some thought to ending his gambling. In his mid-20s, he considered attending a Gamblers Anonymous meeting, recalling that he drove to one in Bloomfield, circling the block and drove away. He called the Gamblers’ hotline so often that the person taking the call immediately recognized his voice.
On another occasion, he attended a meeting in Fairlawn. After hearing the members tell the stories of their gambling days, he dismissed them as characters from the movie “One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest.” At the time, he again felt sure he knew better than what was imparted by the members' cautionary tales. He now knows that he made the mistake of comparing, not identifying.
Once, on his way to Atlantic City, while stopped at a toll booth on the Garden State Parkway, a figure appeared in the clouds. Lee immediately understood this vision to be his higher power. He was struck by this divine manifestation –but just briefly. He continue on to the casinos. Not even a visitation was sufficient to persuade Lee that the time had come to stop gambling.
With the approach of his 34th birthday and the prospect of losing the woman he deeply loved, he came to the point of acknowledging that he didn’t know best, not when it came to gambling.
Now, nearly 30 years removed from gambling, Lee is wary that his big ego is something he needs to keep in check. He generally does not break his anonymity and does not want to be seen as a spokesperson. He has made one exception to this rule. As a coach for his son’s Little League team, he was featured in a book about the team’s successes in the Little League World Series. Lee initially balked at having his name appear in the book, but his Gamblers Anonymous sponsor convinced him that in this case, using his name would serve others. Lee deferred to his sponsor, at peace with the fact that often he does not know better.
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The staff of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey with a $5,000 donation recently made by Resorts Casino Hotel. |
CCGNJ Conference
Save the date - September 23
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The Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey has scheduled its (in-person) conference on September 23 at the Conference Center on the Campus of Mercer County Community College. Updates and registration will be available on our website: www.800gambler.org
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Book a Presentation for Your Group or Workplace
Would you like for the CCGNJ to visit your facility or group to discuss gambling and related disorders? Presentations can be provided in person or via Zoom. Please contact Luis Del Orbe, Prevention & Treatment Administrator, at 609-588-5515 (ext 120) or [email protected] to schedule a date.
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