Missouri Alliance Launches New Public Awareness Campaign

The Missouri Alliance to Curb Problem Gambling has kicked off two new campaigns to build awareness of its toll-free problem gambling help line – 1-888-BETS-OFF. The campaigns, one for general awareness and the other for youth, are aimed at friends and family of problem gamblers.

"On average, about 28 percent of the callers to the help line are third-party callers or people who are calling about a loved one," said Gary Gonder, director of communications for the Missouri Lottery and outgoing president of the alliance. "That's why we felt it was important to reach out to friends and family with this information."

The initiation of these campaigns coincided with the AGA's Responsible Gaming Education Week in early August.
 
In support of its mission to educate the public about gambling disorders, the alliance also hosted a presentation in August by Carol O'Hare, executive director of the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling and a recovering compulsive gambler, at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The lecture, which was free and open to the public, highlighted the importance of friends and family in getting help for a problem gambler. "Nobody should try to solve addiction problems on their own, but everybody can find solutions if they are willing to reach out," O'Hare said.
 
The alliance is the product of a unique partnership among public, private and nonprofit organizations that recognize the need to address the social problems and costs created when some individuals, regardless of their number, have problems handling the product or service that the state and gaming industry provide. As O'Hare noted, "Addiction is always a complex issue and the more you can bring diverse resources together to address it in the community, the better chance you'll have to bring solutions to the people who need it."