Spotlight Shines On Gamblers With A Problem Industry Lobbyist Seeks Funding For Education, Treatment

For years, Washington’s $2.4 billion gambling industry has roared along, paying scant attention to the addicts and problem gamblers struggling in its wake.

But that might change in a big way during this legislative session.

On Monday, one of the state’s most visible gambling lobbyists, Vito Chiechi, sat down with the head of the Washington State Council on Problem Gambling and talked about getting money for the treatment of problem gamblers.

“It’s the wildest legislative season we’ve ever had,” said Gary Hanson, director of the council. “Just to have these people coming to talk to us is a great success.”

With two staffers and a budget of $170,000, the nonprofit council has tried to bring awareness to problem gambling while remaining neutral on gambling policy. The council was established in 1991 when the state’s first tribal casino opened.

“We think problem gambling is an issue that should be addressed immediately by all elements of gaming - card rooms, horse racing, the lottery, Indians,” Chiechi said.

He is director of the Recreational Gaming Association, which represents card-room operators, some of whom expanded their operations into mini-casinos last year.

Thanks to a 1997 law, mini-casinos can offer 15 tables of card games, play against gamblers and keep the winnings.

Last year, the Washington State Gambling Commission was approving two or three mini-casinos per month. Currently, four are operating in Spokane, plus two others in the Valley.

The growth of casinos and the enormous amount of money being wagered have attracted a lot of attention from the public, Indian tribes and legislators - and not all of it good.

“Vito learned it is in the self-interest of the gambling industry that they need to deal with this issue of problem gambling,” Hanson said.

“Our industry is aware we have to face this problem, and we want to be out in front,” Chiechi said. “I think the card-room operators are realists. They know there is a problem out there.”

Chiechi is looking to find “something less than $300,000” biennially for treatment and education. He said he hopes to have a draft bill ready early next week authorizing the money to be taken from the Washington State Gambling Commission’s ending fund balance.

The state commission is expected to have a balance of more than $1.5 million at the end of this fiscal year.

“Then we’d like everybody else to step up to the plate - the horse-racing industry, charitable organizations, the lottery, everybody in the gambling industry,” he said. “My friends in horse racing are going to kill me when they read this.”

Chiechi’s proposal would coincide with the council’s attempt to take $150,000 annually from the advertising budget of Washington’s state-run lottery. State Rep. Alex Wood, D-Spokane, is sponsoring that bill.

“In the past, the lottery has supported us on this issue,” Hanson said. “But this year, they’re not.”

While the council is the lead organization addressing gambling addiction in Washington, it has had only enough resources to offer training to counselors who want to treat problem gamblers.

There hasn’t been any money - state or otherwise - for the treatment of problem gambling, a disease that typically leaves people penniless.

The only survey of problem gambling in Washington estimated 57,000 to 143,000 adults suffered “moderate to severe problems related to their involvement in gambling” in 1993.

Not only is the issue of problem gambling getting more interest from the industry, but it also is on the radar screen of many legislators, Hanson said.

“Even if we fail, we will get a lot more attention to this issue than we’ve ever had before,” he said.