MIDDLETOWN, Conn. -- Some children as young as 11 have been turning to state experts for help in dealing with their gambling problems.
Chris Armentano, director of the Problem Gambling Services for the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, said 11 children under the age of 18 are enrolled in the state's treatment programs for gambling problems.
Armentano attributes the situation to the growing popularity of poker. He also has concerns about the growing use of Internet gambling sites.
"I believe most all of them started playing poker and then moved on to other things," Armentano said. "Our youngest was gambling online and created a significant amount of debt and ended up stealing from neighbors."
The state is preparing to observe National Problem Gambling Awareness week with several activities including forums and panel discussions.
The University of Connecticut's men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun has agreed to record a radio spot to remind parents to talk to their children about gambling. The spot will reference a new Web-site, www.youthpoker.org, containing information on problem gambling for parents.
The department also is distributing an educational gambling prevention curriculum called "Beat Addition: Choose the Right Path," to schools throughout the state. The Missouri Alliance to Curb Problem Gambling created the curriculum and is providing it to Connecticut for free.
"We're reproducing the whole package, which we have customized for Connecticut and are in the process of distributing," Armentano said.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment