Thousands of new slot machines and table games that emerged this month as part of New York state casino growth are not only bringing more opportunities to gamble, but also millions more to help problem gamblers.
The opening of Del Lago Resort & Casino on Fingers Lake on Wednesday and Shenectady’s Rivers Casino & Resort next week will fund the state’s treatment and cognition programs for licensing under $500 a year for each slot machine and table game. Such funding will ultimately add about $3.3 million a year to the state’s gambling program, a dramatic increase in the state’s gambling program.
“The norm can’t be that we see the economic development that’s going to happen with a new casino,” said Jim Manny, an executive at the New York Gambling Commission. “With the expansion of gambling on anything, the expansion of gambling brings the possibility of an increase in the number of people struggling with it.”
State lawmakers introduced per-game fees to the law, which would authorize four new upstate New York casinos. Fees similar to some other state reviews are expected to bring in $3.3 million when all four casinos open. The state’s Bureau of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse currently spends $2.6 million annually on gambling treatment and prevention.
National institutions plan to expand the so-called Center for Excellence, which links problematic beat and treatment and raises awareness. 카지노사이트 순위
The dual opening this month comes shortly after Southern Tioga Downs switched from a casino with a video lottery terminal to a slot and table game casino. The fourth northern casino approved by state regulators in 2014, the Montrein Resort Casino in Catskills, will open in March 2018. They are entering a crowded local gambling market with casinos opening in Maryland, Massachusetts, Delaware, Rhode Island and elsewhere.
In New York alone, there is a video lottery terminal that looks like a slot, with the new casino being added to six Indian casinos and eight horse tracks. Also, state lawmakers legalized everyday fantasy sports last year.
Existing casinos offer money to New York for education and other purposes, but allocating funds specifically for problem gambling is new for the state.
New York has already made it easier for problem gamblers to get treatment at its six addiction treatment centers. It allows problem gamblers who are not chemically dependent to be recognized as the primary diagnosis for up to 30 days.
Last year, 1,272 people called the free number of problem gamblers and 229 people sought care for problem gambling at 17 state-funded outpatient clinics.