Musings about March Madness

by Jim Wuelfing, Prevention and Recovery Support Services Consultant, The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling












As this is being posted, March Madness, the annual right of deciding a national collegiate basketball champion is whittling down the “Sweet Sixteen” to the “Elite Eight.”  Many, if not most, of the people I know are somewhat interested and caught up in the hype and many of them have filled out a bracket and have a few dollars riding on the outcome. Last week’s Council blog (here) talked a lot about the problem gambling aspect of March Madness, the incredible extent of wagering that occurs and how this can be a truly difficult time for many problem gamblers seeking or in recovery. So I decided to try and find a few other interesting tidbits to write about.

In the National Council’s News Roundup, two articles peaked my interest. The first (here) was about the simply incredible odds of picking a perfect bracket. The odds are so small that I don’t even understands the words used.  The perfect bracket odds have been calculated to be between 1 and 128 billion and 1 in 9.2 quintillion. Quintillion?  I don’t even know how to write 9.2 quintillion much less have any understanding of what a number that big even means!

The second article (here) was a study on sports gamblers and the fallacy that sports gamblers are a more savvy lot than the rest of us. The sport studied was soccer and not basketball but it clearly showed that knowing a lot about soccer did not produce better results when gambling than not knowing much about soccer at all. In fact the two subjects that were the best at picking the winners knew very little about the sport at all.

But what I really want to write about, is a lesson I learned about myself. As a consultant to the Massachusetts Council, I have pledged myself not to gamble in a way that brings discredit to the Council and to not gamble illegally. In truth, I rarely gamble at all. But gambling on the bracket is sports betting and sports betting in Massachusetts is illegal, therefore no bracket pools for me.  However, I did fill out a bracket – I just keep it at home and did not use it to make a wager of any kind. 

So what was the lesson? I definitely became more absorbed in the March Madness event. I stayed up too late to catch the end of a game. I checked my IPhone first thing in the morning to see that late night game results. I wondered how I would have fared had I placed my choices against others.  It made me wonder how much that would have changed had I had money riding on the event.  I think I have talked to enough problem gamblers to know that winning and losing are not as important as being “in action”.  Well, I think I got a tiny glimpse of what that means as I felt “in action”, albeit to a very small degree, with my bracket and I didn’t even gamble.

As a preventionist, I do talk about risk management.  So, I would suggest you ask yourself these questions if you have wagered on March Madness?

·         Did you gamble more money than you intended to?

            ·         Did you expect to lose that money or were you motivated to win money?
            ·         Did you jeopardize anything important?
            ·         Did you borrow or use credit?
            ·         Did this become more than a social event?

The title of this blog is Musings about March Madness. I am not suggesting that the answers to these questions are meant to be diagnostic in any way, rather, just something to ponder.

March Madness 2013

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









This week begins March Madness. As with the Super Bowl, March Madness can be tough for those who are experiencing problems with gambling. To be honest, I never knew what March Madness was until recently. For those who do not know what March Madness is all about, here’s a quick run-down: over the course of three weeks, 64 college basketball teams compete and knock each other out, round by round, until only 1 team is left, thus becoming the champions of NCAA basketball. It’s fast, thrilling and exciting for many people.

For others, this event can be very hard, and in some cases have devastating effects on a gambler and the people connected to them.  According to the article The Economics of March Madness, by Kirby Garlitos, over the three-week event an estimated $12 billion is wagered. That is about twice as much that was wagered on the one-day Super Bowl XLVII event, with only $98.8 million being done through legalized gambling in Las Vegas. 

This makes March the biggest betting month of the year, all due to March Madness. Not only does March Madness have an effect on one’s wallet, but also their time, work productivity and sleep (March Madness: Distracted workers, illegal gambling, loss of sleep).  Last year, Tiffany Hsu, of the LA Times, reported that “The NCAA basketball tournament will suck 90 minutes out of each workday for 2.5 million workers, according to a report from employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. More than a third of survey respondents believing that their bets will offer a better return than their 401(k) portfolios.” With numbers like that on the line, there’s a potential for a life-changing loss.

Even though office pools and brackets are illegal, even with the federal government sending out a warning to its workers (here), and even with college students being warned over and over again about the dangers of March Madness (here and here), it’s almost as if law enforcement turns a blind eye when it comes to bigger events such as March Madness and the Super Bowl, as reported by Carron J. Philips in his article March Madness Tournament Brackets: Gambling Illegal, but Fans Still Game.

Based on research done by the Council’s Research and Data Director, Philip Kopel, 17% of adults in Massachusetts say they take part in office pools.  The majority of them indicate that they participate once or twice per year, corresponding with the NCAA basketball tournament and the Super Bowl. In addition, Kopel said, about 10% of adults indicated that they bet on sports either through a bookie or on a Sportsbook website year round.

So, how do people get away with betting illegally out in the open? Phillips quotes a local Michigan attorney saying, “If you’re going down the highway a couple of miles over the speed limit, the chances of you getting arrested are pretty small.”  This does not mean that everyone gets away with gambling during March Madness. Using the same analogy, the attorney explains that there are ways to get noticed by law enforcement, “If you go flying 20 or 30 miles over the speed limit, there’s a better chance you’re going to get pulled over. The smaller your pool, if there’s a couple-dollar entry fee, there is less of a risk. If you have a $1,000 entry fee pool, there is more likely a chance that somebody will take notice of what’s going on.” 

Another way to get noticed is your age, as in the example of the 5^th grade boy who got in trouble at school for starting a pool right under his parents’ noses. The boy’s mother explains that the thought of gambling never crossed her mind when she lent him $5 (Read more here). This is another example why taking preventative measures and educating young children about responsible gambling is crucial.

The Council understands that sports are fun for many people, but there are people who bet on sports, and in some cases, it may take over their lives. To help raise awareness, the Council has put helpline advertisements in local sport programs and have released a special March Madness radio spot on Boston’s WBZ 98.5 The Sports Hub. The spot highlights a true story about a man, called Tom, and his struggles with gambling, in particular sports betting. Tom explains in the spot that gambling doesn’t have to take over your life. As he puts it, “There’s hope… and there’s help.”

If you or someone you know may be experiencing problems with gambling, don’t hesitate to call our helpline: 617.426.1234.

Listen out for our spot on 98.5 in Boston until March 29^th, you can also listen on our Wisdom Exchange podcast: On iTunes or On Buzzsprout.

Council Works with Neighbors of Potential Casino Sites

The first Reginal Collaborative was held at Stonehill College

by Jim Wuelfing, Prevention and Recovery Support Services Consultant, The Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling








With the reality of casinos in our backyard approaching, the Mass. Council is working hard to help raise awareness and educate people about problem gambling.

Many times when people discuss problem gambling they talk about intervention and treatment, almost forgetting about prevention. It can be argued that prevention is the most important measure in lowering rates of problem gambling.

The Council’s Prevention Consultant, Jim Wuelfing, shares with us preventative steps that the Council is taking to prepare for the up and coming casinos.

Working with local communities to engage them in understanding the issue of problem gambling, designing effective interventions and building the capacity of the community to implement prevention programs, is the core of good prevention efforts.

With this in mind, the Council has moved forward in an effort to develop prevention collaboratives in three regions of the state: Western Massachusetts focusing on the Springfield area; Southeastern Massachusetts focusing on the Taunton area; and Eastern Massachusetts focusing on the Boston area.

We are reaching out to three populations within those regions. These include high schools, colleges and universities, and agencies and organizations serving older adults. The first step was to invite representatives of these populations to a regional meeting.

Thus far meetings, targeting the college group, have been held at Western New England University, Harvard University and Stonehill College. We will now begin the process of developing a network of college and university administrators with the common goal of preventing problem gambling on campuses, and being better prepared to meet the challenges of expanded gambling in their areas. 

Those in attendance welcomed the opportunity to learn about the issue of problem gambling among college students. Discussion topics included: prevalence, warning signs, risk reduction behaviors and brief screening tools. Attendees were also made aware of services the Council can provide to them; such as programs designed specifically for athletes and resident assistants. We found many administrators grateful for the opportunity to have a partner to assist them in addressing the issue.

Regional meetings are being planned in April for high school administrators and in May for service providers of the older adult population.  It is our hope that these collaboratives will continue to foster a regional approach to the prevention of problem gambling.

Problem Gambling Awareness Week Wrap-Up

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today wraps up National Problem Gambling Awareness Week (NPGAW). As mentioned in last week’s blog (here), the 2013 NPGAW theme is: "Problem Gambling: A New Understanding of a Community Concern." National Problem Gambling Awareness Week is a special week in the year where the councils across the United States focus on a specific theme to help raise awareness about issues surrounding problem gambling.

To promote NPGAW in Massachusetts, Council staff members set up tables, answered questions, and had conversations about problem gambling at various hospitals and community health centers across Massachusetts. You can see pictures from NPGAW here.

I kicked off NPGAW on Friday March 1^st at Interfaith Social Services (ISS) in Quincy. While there, I was able to sit down and talk to ISS’s food pantry clients about problem gambling during a time they call the “Learning Pantry.” Some people I spoke with were not aware that casinos were a reality in Massachusetts’ future. Others said they stayed away from gambling because they suffered enough in different aspects of their lives, battling poverty and other addictions. I did hear a heartbreaking story from one woman who told me her mother was a compulsive gambler, and died at Foxwoods casino. Everyone I spoke to, especially the last mentioned woman, reaffirm why I do the work that I do, and stressed how important it is that we have NPGAW.

On Monday, Executive Director Marlene Warner and her son Cormac, set up a table at the Northshore Community Health Center in Salem. “No one is too young to participate in Problem Gambling Awareness Week,” Marlene said about taking her young son with her. Studies have shown that the younger one is when prevention measures are put into place, the less likely they will become a problem gambler or experience issues with other addictions.

Also on Monday morning, Program Specialist Jodie Nealley went to Emerson Hospital in Concord. Jodie had a great turn out, and was able to talk to about 75 people, many of them social workers. Many people expressed that they knew of someone who was a problem gambler, or someone came to mind and took information to pass it on. That afternoon Jodie showed the movie “Owning Mahowny” at the P.E.O.P.L.E. recovery center in Lawrence. About 7 clients joined Jodie in viewing and discussing film.

Program Specialist Amanda Poggenburg and I showed “Owning Mahowny” on Monday afternoon as well, at StepRox in Roxbury. About 12 people joined for the movie. Many people were able to relate the feelings and the behavior to their own experiences with addiction and that seemed to hit home. Both places are looking forward to having more problem gambling-related events to help educate and raise awareness about the issues around problem gambling.

On Tuesday, Council Research and Data Director, Phil Kopel, visited Brigham and Women’s Foxboro Health Care Center and the Steward Norwood Hospital. Phil met with representatives at each facility to discuss problem gambling issues, and give out packets of informational material, including helpline cards for waiting rooms. Steward Norwood Hospital plans to include information from the educational materials in their weekly internal newsletter.

On Thursday, Fiscal Assistant Francia Peguero went to Brookside Community Health Center in Roxbury; and today, Friday, Communications Director Margot Cahoon and Fiscal Director Tom Luongo are raising awareness by visiting Outer Cape Health Services locations on Cape Cod in Provincetown, Wellfleet and Harwich. Unfortunately, due to the inclement weather, several staff members’ tables have been postponed to the near future.

The Mass Council, as all other councils, continue their work year round and are dedicated to providing leadership to reduce the social, financial, and emotional costs of problem gambling, and to promote a continuum of prevention and intervention strategies including: information and public awareness, community education and professional training, advocacy and referral services for problem gamblers, their loved ones and the greater community.

 

Problem Gambling Awareness Week: March 3 - 9

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









March 3, 2013 marks the beginning of National Problem Gambling Awareness Week (NPGAW). According to the official website (here) NPGAW, started by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), is “a grassroots public awareness and outreach campaign.” The idea behind the campaign is “to educate the general public, and health care professionals about the warning signs of problem gambling and to raise awareness about the help that is available both locally and nationally.”

The 2013 NPGAW theme is:

"Problem Gambling: A New Understanding of a Community Concern"

Currently in the American Psychiatric Association’ Diagnostic Statistical Manual, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV, also known as the clinicians’ “Bible,” if you will), a person who may be a problem or pathological gambler is has what is considered an impulse control disorder and that is indicated by five or more of the criteria found here.

However, over the past several years, as knowledge increased about the issues and behavior of a problem gambler, it was found that there may be much more to this disorder. The definition of a gambling disorder has been reevaluated over the years and in the upcoming DSM-5 will be redefined as a behavioral addiction (definition of addiction), lumping the disorder in the same category as substance abuse and other addictions. As Jeffrey Beck, Assistant Director for Clinical Service, Treatment & Research for the New Jersey Council on Compulsive Gambling said in the recent NPGAW press release (here), “Addiction is a better understood condition and I think that many persons and families suffering from a gambling disorder will be closer to obtaining help and relief.  In a word, the reclassification will help people.”

Something else most people don’t realize, which Reece Middleton, Executive Director of the Louisiana Council on Problem Gambling, pointed out is that problem gamblers often have a  high rate of depression, many times along with drug and alcohol problems as well. This is why the new classification of a gambling disorder will help mental health agencies to screen for the addiction, and potentially save lives.

To promote NPGAW in Massachusetts, Council staff members will be setting up tables, answering questions, and having general conversation about problem gambling at various hospitals and community health centers across Massachusetts. But we need your help to spread the word too. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said, “Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly… This is the interrelated structure of reality.” The choices one makes can affect people we may never have met, whether through passing along lessons learned from one’s story, or changing rules, regulations and politics in general.  It is highly  important to educate the general public and to raise awareness about problem gambling, which you can help to do  by starting informed conversations, as well as viewing the world with open eyes. One can miss a lot when they’re not looking for something. If you live in an area where the new casinos will potentially be, talk to your legislatures. If you have concerns about your own behavior, or someone else you know, there is ALWAYS help. Visit the Mass Council website, or call our helpline: 800.426.1234.

Remember, the personal, almost always, becomes political. It only takes one person to make a difference and change the thoughts and stigmas many people in society have towards mental health. National Problem Gambling Awareness Week is a good week to open up conversation and help create change.