THE COUNCIL WELCOMES PHIL KOPEL

by Phil S. Kopel, Research and Data Director

 

 

 

Hi, I am Phil Kopel, the new Research and Data Director for the Council.  While I am new to the Council, I have been involved in the gambling industry for over 27 years.  I started in the industry as Manager of Marketing Research for lottery supplier, GTECH Corporation. After that, I was the President of Kopel Research Group, Inc., a marketing research firm that conducted lottery game research and player behavior studies for many governmental lotteries and their suppliers and advertising agencies.  Finally, for the past three years I was the Director of Marketing Research for the CT Lottery Corporation.

I prefaced my comments with my background, to illustrate that my knowledge of the gambling industry comes from that of the industry itself, not as a clinical researcher working with problem gamblers.  My research objective has always been to provide my clients and employers with honest information to help them optimize lottery games so that they provide their players with products that they would most want to try, and continue to play.  Clearly the lotteries have been very successful at selling their products.  Last year, annual lottery sales in the United States totaled about $60 billion, and sales were over $4.7 billion in Massachusetts, a state with just 6.6 million people.

As I take on this new role, I have a lot to learn about compulsive gambling, and am looking forward to learning from the best.  Some may think I am changing sides, becoming anti-gambling.  However, the reality is that the Council is neutral about gambling.  Its goal is limited toward the prevention of compulsive gambling and to help current problem gamblers find effective resources to aid in their recovery. Toward those goals, the Mass Lottery and Council are actually partners, since eliminating compulsive gambling is in everyone’s interest.

As a researcher, I am very excited to apply my lottery industry and market research expertise to compulsive gambling issues. 

For many lottery players, buying lottery tickets with “disposable money” (money used for discretionary use after all of the bills are paid) can be fun, like going on a ride at an amusement park.  However, for those who have addictive behavior and gamble compulsively the result can be heartbreaking and devastating.  Money that should be used to pay for needed products and services such as: food, housing, clothing and health care is instead spent on scratch tickets comprised of shiny paper with predetermined outcomes and cash register receipts for games with drawings. 

Games are designed so that most players will occasionally win “your money back” type prizes, creating an incentive for the player to keep playing.  While a few well publicized players do win big, typically the more players play, the more they lose.  That is the only way the system can work.  Here’s why:

For every dollar a player spends to buy a lottery ticket, about 70 cents is returned into the prize pool, 25 cents goes to the state treasury (after all, that is the reason for the lottery) and about 5 cents is used to cover administrative costs. 

Much of the money that goes back to prizes fuels top “promotable” prizes, while the majority of tickets are losing tickets, “win your money back” tickets and some minimal “small tell your friends you won” type prizes. 

For those who find fun in these games, the lottery has succeeded in meeting its objective. The lottery wants you to have fun and play for entertainment value... while it takes your money. They also couch their message by saying, “play responsibly;” meaning do not spend more than you can afford to lose, because that is the likely outcome. However, for those who cannot play just for fun and are experiencing gambling issues, the Mass Council on Compulsive Gambling understands the problem and they can help.

Prevention Comes First

by Sasha C. Russell, M.A., Program Specialist, Communications, The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling

  

  

On Monday December 10^th, several Council members traveled to Shrewsbury, Massachusetts to attend Council Consultant Jim Wuelfing’s training, “Prevention of Problem Gambling: What Every Preventionist Needs to Know.” Nearly 30 people from all over the state and varying organizations and fields were there to either get an introduction to prevention and problem gambling or expand the knowledge they already have on the topic.  The training took place from 9am – 4pm and there was a lot of opportunity, not only for learning, but networking as well. The morning’s introductions helped everyone in the room know at what level of understanding each person was.

Prevention is something that is unfortunately not always addressed in our society. We tend to be a society that takes action AFTER an event, rather than taking measures to prevent certain actions from happening in the first place. An important lesson to learn from this that Jim said during the training is that “no progress has ever been made against any epidemic by treating only the casualties. We’d simply replace them with more.” Program Specialist Jodie explains Jim’s point, “If we do not enhance, increase, [and] enable our prevention efforts, the progress [made to help] decrease problem gambling will never go forward. [It] will never progress to the point where the negative consequences of the gambler, their families and communities can lessen. This one of the key missions of the Council… like Mother Teresa did: help heal those in pain.”

For all situations in society, especially physical or mental illness, prevention is a key point in progressing forward and creating overall understanding of the issue. In regards to problem gambling, prevention and research, the Council’s Research and Data Director Phil, believes strongly in efforts toward more research on prevention. According to Phil. Prevention is important because it “is the active process of creating an environment which lowers the probability that those starting out as social gamblers will eventually become problem and compulsive gamblers… I learned that real prevention requires raising protective factors and lowering risk factors.”

The information covered was insightful. Especially with the holidays coming up, many children receive scratch tickets as a “fun” and “special gift for the holidays (read more about it here). With the average age of onset being between 9 and 11 years old, it’s important that prevention start at the home. Protective factors, as Phil mentioned, are factors that decrease the chances of someone (or a community) developing health and behavioral problems. Having multiple protective factors can override risk factors, which are factors that increase the chances of someone (or a community) developing health and behavioral problems. Jim and a study done on youth gambling, “Youth Gambling Problems: The Identification of Risk and Protective Factors,” have laid the following out as protective factors:

·         A relationship with a caring adult role model

·         Having an opportunity to contribute and be seen as a resource

·         Effectiveness in work, play and relationships

·         Healthy expectations and a positive outlook

·         Self-esteem and an internal locus of control

·         Self-discipline

·         Problem solving and critical thinking skills

·         A sense of humor

·         Family cohesion/connectedness

·         School/community connectedness

·         Designing school-based prevention programs that seek to develop student’s attachment, trust, and identification with larger groups (e.g. school clubs and sports teams, Scouts or Guides)

Something I always teach my sociology students about society is that people tend to be less destructive towards themselves and others if they are able to feel a connection to their family, friends, and community around them. Prevention is not only important for problem gambling, but for all possible health and behavioral problems. We should keep this in mind and close with us especially during the holiday season, when many people might have heightened feelings of detachment. Be kind to your neighbor, even sometimes a simple smile and nod “Hello” can change someone’s outlook for the day.

All in all, Jim’s training was very balanced training, Program Specialist Amanda felt, filled with information for peoples of all levels. Not only were we able to cover prevention basics, but we were able to focus on special populations such as children, college students and older adults. Though prevention can start when one is young, it is something that needs to be practiced during all stages of life.

THE COUNCIL WELCOMES JODIE NEALLEY

by Jodie Nealley, M.S., Program Specialist. Jodie is shown here outside the house made famous by the TV show Charmed. It was important for Jodie to visit this house because she believes in "the magic of compassion, the magic of change, the magic of recovery, the magic of the moment, [and] the miracles that happen."

Greetings! I am Jodie. I have officially joined the Council as an employee after doing some volunteer work for the organization.

Fulfilling is the word that I choose as I begin my work here. Foremost of which, is to improve and expand the Council’s 24/7 Helpline in order to better serve the needs of problem gamblers, their families and the health care practitioners and providers who support them. The Helpline is one of the backbones of the Council. It gives substance to its slogan – “We understand the problem. We can help.” Through the Helpline people experiencing problems with gambling and their family members can talk to a person about issues surrounding their own or their loved one’s gambling.

One of the hardest issues those with a gambling disorders deal with is feeling that they are alone in their problems. They are not. You are not. I am not. At the Council, we have many resources that we can send out to people and resources we can direct people to that can help them to know that they are not alone in the problem. The visual image that I have is the problem gamblers standing there and a crowd of people behind him like in the popular cell phone provider ad. “Are you there?” the problem gambler asks; and the Council – the crowd- says “Yes – we hear you loud and clear and are here to help.”

As a graduate of St Lawrence University and Indiana University, I have experience in both the academic world and the school of hard knocks (most self-inflicted).  I spent over 30 years working in Higher Education and am currently working toward my license in Addiction Counseling.

By nature I am an optimist who believes that we, to some extent, create our reality by thinking clearly and positively about what it is we want out of life. One of my favorite illustrations of this idea is the scene in Star Wars V when Luke is training with Yoda in the swamp. He cannot believe in the power of the force and when asked to lift a star fighter out of the swamp, he tries and fails. As we see mighty Yoda do it, Luke says ‘I don’t believe it’. Yoda turns and says, ‘that is why you failed.’ Luke did not see in his heart that he had the power to do what Yoda asked. He could not visualize success.

I have been lucky and I have helped make my own luck. A lot has to do with positive thinking and faith. Faith that things will work out. Faith that believing is better than not believing, that moving forward – however slowly- is better than standing still, that the glass is half full.  It takes no more energy to think an optimistic thought rather than a pessimistic thought. It takes faith I suppose that thinking positively pays off but really why choose the alternative.

Abraham Lincoln said, “People are about as happy as they make themselves out to be.” I know in reality this line of thinking is simplistic and does not – cannot work for everyone – but it works for me and I believe very strongly in its power for good.

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THE COUNCIL WELCOMES RACHEL FLAHERTY

by Rachel Flaherty, Program Specialist

Hello all – My name is Rachel Flaherty, and I am just thrilled to be an employee of the Mass Council.  I come from the west coast, with my young childhood years being in Southern California and my teen & early adulthood years in Washington State, then relocating to Massachusetts in 2004.

I received a BA in Human Services from Western Washington University, in Washington State.  In most recent years, I have worked for the council on special events as a Contingent Employee, been a member on the Council’s “Recovery Advisory Board”, completed the “Recovery Coach Academy” training, as well as, attended and participated in various addiction and/or recovery based meetings and events.  I am excited to bring to the Council, a level of empathy and understanding, coupled with motivation and drive to make a difference in the lives of those affected by the illness of compulsive gambling. 

I look forward to gaining additional knowledge, which I have already begun to receive, efforts in increasing public awareness by representing this wonderful organization at community meetings, conferences, etc., having a role in the development and/or implementation of tasks that will increase Massachusetts capacity to provide efficient and effective services to individuals, families, employers, communities, etc.