9/29/08 | Problem Gamblers Awareness Day

For Immediate Release 09/29/08
Bus Ads to Raise Awareness of "Hope and Help" for Problem Gamblers

Contacts: Julie Hynes, Lane County Problem Gambling Prevention coordinator, 682-3928, julie.hynes@co.lane.or.us; Ronda Hatefi, Oregonians for Problem Gambling Awareness Organization founder, 541-688-7101, ogao.ronda@gmail.com

Thirteen years ago, Ronda Hatefi’s brother Bobby Hafemann took his life. Bobby suffered with a gambling addiction that his family knew about, but had few resources to help during a time when not much help was available in the state of Oregon. Bobby was only 28 years old.

To commemorate Bobby’s life and raise awareness about the availability of "Hope and Help" for problem gamblers and their loved ones, Lane County Health and Human Services and Oregonians for Problem Gambling Awareness Organization have partnered to place "Lost to Addiction " ads on Lane County buses beginning today, Sept. 29 – Bobby’s birthday. The ads will run through the month of October.

Hatefi, chair of the Lane County Problem Gambling Advisory Committee and Executive Director of Oregonians for Gambling Awareness Organization, wants to let people know that there is hope and help for problem gamblers in Oregon – and that the help is free and confidential.

Julie Hynes, Lane County’s Problem Gambling Prevention coordinator, said the ads are meant to honor Bobby’s life while presenting a message of hope and help.

"This is a reminder that there now is help and hope for people and their loved ones who are dealing with gambling problems," Hynes said. "Help is available – and it’s right here in Lane County at the Emergence Gambling Treatment Program."

While the majority of people gamble with few or no adverse consequences, the rate of problem gambling has risen as gambling opportunities have become more available. Research shows that about 80,000 Oregonians experience problems with gambling. Consequences of problem gambling include more than just debt; families and jobs are often lost, and depression and alcohol or drug abuse is quite common among problem gamblers. In Oregon’s gambling treatment programs this year, one in five problem gamblers said they had suicidal thoughts, and seven percent made an attempt on their lives in the six months leading up to treatment. About one in five problem gamblers in Oregon said they committed crimes to obtain gambling money.

Thirteen years ago, Bobby Hafemann and other problem gamblers had few resources to help with gambling problems. Hatefi knows there are people who continue to need the help, but are unaware that it is available. Fortunately, more people in Oregon are seeking help for gambling problems than ever before. Getting help early is key to saving lives and avoiding the pain that Bobby Hafemann's family knows too well.

Hatefi said of her efforts,"I know that many family members feel alone and helpless against this addiction, I want them to know that help is available for them too. The best way to help someone you love is to become educated about the addiction. My motto has not changed in thirteen years: No Problem Gambler Stands Alone."

Anyone concerned about his or her own gambling, or a loved one's gambling problem, can get free help by calling the 24-hour problem gambling Help Line, housed at the Emergence Gambling Treatment Program in Eugene, at 1.877.MY.LIMIT (877-695-4648), or by going online at 1877mylimit.org. People can get more information about problem gambling at Lane County's problem gambling prevention website, www.lanecounty.org/prevention/gambling.

The "Lost to Addiction" ad, a reminder of Bobby Hafemann’s life and that there is "Hope and Help," will appear on five LTD buses through the month of October. The ads were designed by Problem Gambling Advisory Committee member and artist Michel Savage.

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New Site Includes "Videos to Beat the Odds"

The Minnesota Department of Human Services’ Problem Gambling Program has a new site, BeatTheBet.com. The program also created the Videos to Beat the Odds competition to address the issue of teen problem gambling.

Some of Oregon Problem Gambling Services' regional prevention coordinators have been discussing the potential to offer a "video search" component in 2009 for the annual Oregon Problem Gambling Awareness Week. For six years, the state has been coordinating problem gambling awareness "art searches" (a.k.a. poster contests), in middle schools throughout Oregon. This next year may be an opportunity to expand the searches to high schools with a multimedia approach.

Take a look at the Minnesota high school student videos featured online at http://www.beatthebet.com/hs_FilmContestResults.asp.

What are your thoughts, or previous experiences, with this sort of awareness effort? Share your comments below.

New outreach materials

With the help of Oregon Problem Gambling Services, the Oregon Lottery has recently produced new materials that promote the 24-hour 1877-my-limit help line number, as well as the online helpline website, 1877mylimit.org.

Posters, business cards and brochures have recently been sent to Oregon's state-funded prevention and outreach contact persons, and more can be ordered from Oregon Problem Gambling Services as needed. PGS encourages prevention & outreach coordinators to get the word out by sharing these materials with partners, placing materials in a variety of visible locations, and used in outreach efforts.

If you are not part of a state-funded program, but would like to spread the word, please contact Wendy Hausotter know and PGS will send you a supply of these materials.

Technology in Prevention blog - "New Media for Prevention" slideshow

Big props to LaDonna Coy of Technology in Prevention, Learning for Changes, Inc. for sharing this slideshow.

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A Legal Alternative To Online Gambling

Forbes.com, 6/12/08
Source: http://www.forbes.com/entrepreneurs/2008/06/12/online-gambling-centsports-ent-manage-cx_jb_0612onlinegambling.html

by Jonathan Berke

Here's a business model for you: Give people money and let them place any bet they'd like. If they win, they get to keep the spoils; if they lose, give them more money to play with.
No, we're not talking about the subprime mortgage business. We're talking about a new--and perfectly legal--online gambling outfit called Centsports.com, founded by budding Webpreneur Victor Palmer in College Station, Texas.

Online gambling has always been illegal, even though people got away with it for years. In 2006, U.S. federal prosecutors started cracking down on payment processors, making things a little harder, even for off-shore virtual casino operators and their customers.

Palmer skirts this pesky problem by banking his customers. Three elements have to be present to violate most state gambling laws--namely "prize, chance and consideration," says attorney Chuck Humphrey, a gaming-law specialist and author of the Gambling Law U.S. blog. Because Centsports.com doesn't allow users to bet their own stash, no "consideration" is involved, and thus all is kosher. Quips Palmer: "Congress assumes if you’re dumb enough to give away money, then go for it."

Here's how the site works. Each user starts off with 10 cents in his or her account, provided by Centsports. (You need only register a name and password.) From there, they can bet on any event for which Las Vegas bookmakers set a line.

Once users accumulate $20 in winnings--the equivalent of doubling your money eight times, or striking gold on a 200-to-1 long shot--they can cash out a minimum of $10 and receive an actual check in the mail. (In terms of "consideration," winnings on that initial 10-cent stake don't constitute ownership until actually cashed out.) Losers risk nothing--except perhaps a touch of pride--and get immediately restaked with fresh dimes.

Cashing out is not exactly straight forward. To ensure he can always pay the electric bill, Palmer puts the breaks on payouts (talk about having a house edge). Users compete with each other to snag their winnings from a community pot; big winners get preference.

Users can also earn money by referring friends to Centsports.com. The incentive: 5% of any winnings their friends rack up.

How does Palmer aim to turn a profit? Hungry advertisers--which thus far include Skype, Pizza Hut and the National Basketball Association--and a meager marketing budget consisting of those 10-cent initial stakes and a few teaser videos on YouTube. (Most of Palmer's initial investment went to cover a mere $5-a-month lease on a computer server.) So far, so good: Palmer says his registered user base, now at 200,000 strong, is nearly doubling every month.

Palmer's not your average 26-year-old. He began college at Lubbock Christian University (in Lubbock, Texas) at age 11. He graduated at 16 with a BS in mathematics; soon after began working on a Masters degree in physics at Texas Tech University; and in 2006 bagged a Ph.D. in computer science from Texas A&M University.

That résumé notwithstanding, Palmer is more frat boy than power geek. On the phone, he jokes freely about girls and alcohol. With any luck, he may soon have plenty of reasons to raise a glass.

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