Over the past five years
addictions to gambling have grown at an accelerated
rate. Not only adults, but teenagers are gambling with
out realizing the consequences. Most States including
Connecticut have created agreements with Indian
reservations for self gain. The states are now
realizing the negative impact the Indian casino
reservations are having on their taxpayers.
Gambling is a silent addiction.
Most people can go years with out anyone ever
discovering that they gambled. Besides the local
Casino’s people can now even gamble online.
With today’s modern technology,
if you want to gamble you can so long as you have the
resources. Once your resources are depleted and you’re
in debt, you will begin to seek help. This is where
many states are taking notice due to people claiming
bankruptcy, not paying their state taxes, getting caught
committing petty crimes and even suicide.
The alarming rate in the rise
of addicted individuals has caused the states to rethink
what they are doing and how to help this segment of the
population. The individuals who sought help through
various programs now know they are not alone. The
unfortunate part is in most cases they are starting all
over. If the States would reach out and help these
people then the outcomes may be different.
If a person goes into a bar and
is apparently drunk, the bartenders are not going to
serve this person any alcoholic drinks and may even
recommend a cab. At a casino, people use the cash
machines until they are unable to take out any more
money. People cash checks and even take cash advances
from their credit cards, but no one at the casinos is
willing to step up to the plate and help these people
out.
I have talked with hundreds of
people who excessively gambled. These people knew they
were addicted and always planned to spend a specific
amount of money. After being at the casinos with all the
lights, bells and whistles they fell into a trance and
no longer had any control.
Once the gambler leaves the
casino reality sets in. They now realize they've lost a
lot of money. They ask themselves: How did this happen?
They themselves they will never due this again only to
repeat the same behavior patterns over and over until
they hit bottom and lose everything. These people were
spending anywhere from $100.00 to $5,000.00 per week on
their addiction. In a majority of these situations they
realized they lost everything. Even after filing
bankruptcy they still owed a significant amount in back
taxes.
The State of Connecticut
receives revenues from their two Indian Run Casinos. If
a taxpayer wins a Jackpot equal to or greater than
$1,200.00 and resides in Connecticut they will be
subject to Connecticut State Tax. The Internal Revenue
Service lets you deduct your winnings against your
losses but not in Connecticut.
The various states are now
realizing they created a major problem, but are not
willing to discuss it openly. Various news stations
have been reporting the negative impact, but due to the
revenues generated, no one is willing to step up to the
plate and help these people out.
Until the local authorities
take action, many lives will continue to be destroyed.
