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Gambling help-line had 7,000 calls in 8 years
Gambling help-line had 7,000 calls in 8 years
HUNTINGTON -- Since it was established eight years ago, the 1-800-GAMBLER help-line in West Virginia has received 7,000 calls from gambling addicts, family members or loved ones of addicts, according to information released Monday.
The statistics came from The Problem Gamblers Help Network of West Virginia, which operates the help-line.
The majority of the calls, 1,141 of the total, originated from Kanawha County, which has the highest population in the state and the largest number of gambling establishments.
It more than doubled the second-highest number of calls, which came from Wood County.
In the past eight years, 382 calls came from Cabell County, 234 from Putnam and 72 from Wayne.
More than 200 calls came from out-of-state, and 344 came from unknown sources.
The statistics released by the Help Network seem to suggest that gambling is not a problem constrained to the down-and-out or unemployed.
According to the figures, out of those who called or were the subject of a call to the hotline, 3,388 had full-time jobs. The next-highest demographic were those on disability at 724.
Also, according to the statistics, the income of gambling addicts who went through the hotline was $50,000 or more in 1,176 cases, by far the highest number. More than 740 addicts made between $10,000 to $20,000 per year, while 641 made between $20,000 and $30,000.
As for what types of games gamblers were addicted to, video poker machines were the highest, with 4,348 reported cases, followed by slot machines at 1,124 cases. Third-highest was the lottery at 524. Only 62 callers listed dog racing as their type of gambling.
The Help Network occasionally compiles hotline data to get a sense of a "typical" hotline caller, said program director Steve Burton in a written statement.
"Our data shows most of our callers are married, work full time and have at least a high school education," Burton said. "Half our callers are women."
Burton said information obtained from callers has shown an increasing desperation when it comes to feeding the gambling addiction.
"People have always told us that they often don't pay their bills or borrow money to gamble," he said. "But in the last couple of years a lot of people have told us the have lost their house or car, or spent insurance settlement money or their inheritance on gambling, so we've started keeping track of that."
Callers to the help-line receive a referral for a free consultation with a counselor, referrals for Gamblers Anonymous and Consumer Credit Counseling. Callers also receive a self-help manual.
