Minnesota’s Department of Human Services continues to follow the federal health emergency guidelines for providing telehealth services. The current three-month approval will end in November. As of mid-October, there was no indication from DHS — one way or the other — as to whether this will continue.
Given the success of telehealth counseling and Minnesota’s expansive geography and often-hazardous winter weather, MNAPG will continue to advocate for this service becoming a permanent tool for counselors and therapists. With only 18 certified problem gambling providers in the state of Minnesota, most located in the Twin Cities metro area, we believe telehealth counseling is an essential tool in helping those experiencing harm from gambling, whether a gambler or a family member. While in-person will always be the gold standard, we think the accessibility of telehealth counseling can be extremely helpful for those seeking to begin their recovery.
I’m hardly the person you’d expect to develop a gambling addiction. I wasn’t a video gamer, didn’t like football pools and didn’t play the stock market. I didn’t even start gambling until I was almost 50. And even then, I took a roll of quarters to the casino, spent it in 15 minutes, and that was the extent of it.
But within a year, I fell fast and hard. I had a big win at the casino when I bet $20 and won $2,000 in a video poker game. Then I thought maybe I could win $20,000.
I got money from wherever I could. I maxed my credit cards and used the overdraft protection from my bank as a loan. And since I managed the finances where I worked, I started juggling the books and accessing funds, convincing myself I would “borrow” the money, keep track of it and pay it back.
My job performance eventually suffered because I spent so much time at the casino. I remember falling asleep at my desk one day because I gambled for the majority of a weekend, getting very little sleep. I ended up getting fired from my job because of poor performance, tardiness and absenteeism.
I knew it was a matter of time before I got caught for what I did with the organization’s books. The fateful day came a month after I was fired when detectives knocked on my door and went through every corner of my house. After I was arraigned, bail was set at a whopping one million dollars because I had previously gone on a cruise to the Grand Cayman, a place where people are known to hide money. I ultimately received a 51-month sentence, spending 34 months in prison and 17 months on parole.
I know that today there are specialty gambling courts in some states where people can avoid prison time if their offenses are related to their gambling addiction. I don’t know that that would have served me well. I think I needed all the time I spent in prison to come up with a plan for the rest of my life. A wrist slap, at least in my case, may not have been enough.
Once I became resolute in my recovery, I was amazed at how many times the “system” wasn’t really in step with my addiction. Once on parole, I was told not to drink or do drugs, though that was never an issue for me. I was subjected to urinalysis to make sure that I wasn’t doing either, but the test somehow came back positive for ecstasy (later determined to be because of a medication I was taking). Another time, while on parole, I was suspected of stealing cash from my employer, but the theft was later traced to a coworker. It’s at these times — when I was getting healthier in my recovery — that I felt sort of framed as a felon or criminal. It’s at these times — when you feel knocked down — that it’s tempting to turn back to the addiction. The key is continuing to work your recovery program.
Now I focus on sharing my story with others at outpatient centers and conferences. I talk about what it was like to be an addict and how I was able to overcome my challenges. I want to give back.
I look back on the lies I told and can’t believe how intricate they were. I once told my employer that I was gone for three hours for lunch because I was at a gas station and someone’s car caught on fire — and that my phone was lost in my act of trying to help them get out.
I came from a middle-class Christian home. I was raised to not lie, cheat and steal. Yet that’s what I became. Everything takes a back seat to the gambling addiction, which is what’s truly driving the bus.
If somebody hears my story and they’re sitting on the fence, I hope they do some reflection and use whatever resources are available to them and not go as deep into the addiction as I did. I feel physical pain when I hear of people that suspect they have a gambling addiction but continue to plunge deeper.
The message I want to leave people with is not to think that it can’t happen to you. It can. No matter your background or how good a person you are, these things can happen to good people.
In the second of a series profiling organizations receiving grants from Minnesota’s Department of Human Services (DHS), this issue of Northern Light features Asian Media Access.
Asian Media Access (AMA) is a comprehensive community media arts education agency supporting creative solutions for problems facing the Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) community through education, production, information technology and community organizing. It’s bringing its resources and mission to bear on the issue of problem gambling to this community.
AMA’s effort began with research to understand more about the cultural impacts creating different problem gambling behaviors. They conducted interviews with 25 members of the AAPI community representing different ethnicities and social status.
“We found that our communities share the secrecy surrounding problem gambling like other communities,” says AMA founder and executive director Ange Hwang. “There is the challenge of people recognizing that they have a gambling problem and seeking help.”
According to Ange, approximately 25% of those interviewed say they gamble because they want more money. In one instance, a woman with low income explained she hoped to get more money to support newborns. “This type of thinking was a surprise to us as we thought they might gamble because they needed an escape from the stress of trying to speak English.”
“Many think that gambling, even in small amounts, is the best route to get more money,” says Ange. “We need to change that mindset so that people understand that if you lose a little, it’s still a large percentage of their assets. We’re trying to find a new way to discuss this with the community.”
The AAPI community uses a communication style that’s different than the Eurocentric way of contacting a hotline and talking to a counselor. Thus, the goal is to create messages that can become immersed in the environment so that it starts to build context and trust.
Another emphasis is to educate members of the community about the importance of financial management. “Many people don’t have exposure to mainstream society and don’t understand the complex financial structure present in the U.S.”
AMA is working to share messages in a variety of ways, including brochures, educational workshops and in-person. “From past experience, we know it’s hard for people to come and say, ‘Yes, I’m a problem gambler and need this workshop,” says Ange. The use of creative materials to open up community discussion is part of a four-year process.
AMA will also be creating YouTube videos that they can present at events and share through social circles. They’ve also started a youth group of “cultural brokers” that will use the heritage language to create postcards and other items that will be circulated to the community. “Communication through heritage language is a key for members who don’t know English,” says Ange.
AMA is collaborating with various organizations to educate the community about problem gambling. These include Asian temples in the Twin Cities, local chambers of commerce, restaurant owners and other organizations that help those new to the area.
The National Football League (NFL) will be launching an extensive, integrated league-wide responsible betting public awareness program designed to educate fans who choose to engage in sports betting to do so responsibly. The key message encourages people to play responsibly by sticking to a game plan, including setting a budget to know their limits, using licensed, regulated operators, and asking for help if they need it. The core message of the campaign’s creative is “Stick to Your Game Plan. Always Bet Responsibly.”
As part of this initiative, the NFL has made a multimillion-dollar, multi-year commitment to significantly expand its long-standing partnership with the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG). The NFL’s funding will enable the NCPG to launch a national grant program to fund enhanced services offered by local and statewide providers, as well as innovative prevention programs, including expansion of youth-facing curricula. The league’s support will also transform the national problem gambling helpline system and allow for the development of improved communications tools, including a new website, www.responsibleplay.org, that will provide the public with quick tips about betting safely and support resources for those in need.
“The National Council on Problem Gambling is pleased to partner with the NFL to shine a light on the importance of responsible betting,” says Keith Whyte, executive director of the NCPG. “With this partnership, we are able to exponentially enhance the NCPG’s ability to provide advocacy, awareness and assistance on problem gambling. The NFL’s far-reaching initiative demonstrates its strong commitment to being an industry leader in raising awareness. The league’s support of our advocacy efforts will help fund new communications initiatives, such as ResponsiblePlay.org and a PSA about problem gambling, expand gambling prevention services where they are most needed, and modernize our National Problem Gambling Helpline operations with updated capabilities.”
The NFL is providing support to upgrade the National Problem Gambling Helpline system by raising criteria, improving call center technology, data collection, reporting, training and certification. A national helpline is crucial for prevention and safety, as well as connecting callers automatically with the appropriate state call center.
In addition to supporting impactful programs such as the helpline, NFL contributions will provide a wide range of additional benefits, including:
• Critical investment in the foundation of a national safety net to prevent gambling addiction.
• Providing agility grants to state NCPG affiliates, nonprofits or other community organizations that can implement innovative problem gambling prevention programs in their local communities.
• Ongoing initiatives such as the league’s awareness and education marketing campaign to help fans and the public understand and use responsible betting techniques, and know where to get help.
