Are lottery sales and gambling increasing with bad economy?

November 25, 2008

As economic woes continue, gambling problems worsen.
Just a generation ago, most people with gambling problems were men.

While that remains true today, the number of women addicted to gaming has grown in leaps and bounds. And as a result, many women turn to crime to feed their habit.

KEITH WHYTE, head of the National Council on Problem Gambling, says, quote, “There’s a societal shift. Women didn’t used to do this. Women are catching up to men.”

Economic hard times certainly don’t help matters. As it is, the largest growing segment of women becoming problem gamblers are seniors. AND today gambling is easier then ever. There are even Tennessee Lottery automated ticket machines in grocery stores all over the state. And of courNot to mention Metropolis is about an hour and 30-minute drive from Murfreesboro… Tunica, about 4-hours away.

As far as those going over the edge, one of the names would include Ohio resident MICHELLE PALUGA, who stole a combined $178,000 from her employer and the PTA so that she could keep gambling. Paluga is now serving 18 months in prison.

ARNIE WEXLER runs a national problem gambling hotline. He recalls that about a quarter of the calls he took at the Council of Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey were from women. That was ten years ago.

Now, women make up about half the calls to his national hotline, 1-888-LASTBET.

Wexler says women like slots and machine games were the rules are easy and the stakes are low. At least, they’re low initially.

WGNS’ Lauren Love will have more on this story next week (December 1st).

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