For people with a problem, the lure of quick
Saturday, March 17, 2007 BILL GRAVES
The Oregonian
Article snippets:
"Counselors say problem gamblers commonly turn to payday lenders, often after they've exhausted other sources of money.
Payday lenders offer gamblers ready cash with no questions. And they're convenient. With about 360 payday stores in Oregon, more than the number of McDonald's restaurants or Starbucks coffee shops, most gamblers don't have to go far to find money.
If payday lenders didn't exist, problem gamblers 'would hit bottom more quickly,' said Marcia Mattoso, a gambling counselor and outreach coordinator for Cascadia Behavioral Healthcare, a Portland nonprofit that operates the state's largest gambling counseling service. Payday loans 'make gamblers' finances even worse than they were in the first place.'
Video lottery, the game of choice for most problem gamblers, sends broke players to payday lenders who in turn give gamblers more money to burn on video lottery.
During the past seven years, the number of payday loans in Oregon nearly tripled, to 841,000 a year; annual video lottery revenue increased by 82 percent, to $733 million; and the number of gamblers turning to counselors for help doubled, to 1,714..."
Full article: http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/117411092498820.xml&coll=7
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