Problem Gambling Pioneer: Thomas Cummings

Unlike many of his counterparts who also played an instrumental role in shaping the problem gambling field in the mid-1980s, Thomas Cummings, founder of the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling, did not enter the field with a clinical psychology background or experience delivering addiction services. In fact, Cummings' experience with disordered gambling was much more personal – he suffered from it himself.

A retired Boston schoolteacher before developing the Mass Council, Cummings realized the need for such an organization when he got into trouble himself, said Kathy Scanlon, the current executive director for the Mass Council. Scanlon worked with Cummings for more than 10 years before succeeding him as executive director in 1998.

"When Tom realized he had a problem and it all came crashing down, he looked around for help and couldn't find it," Scanlon said. "He… realized there needed to be an organization in Massachusetts to give other problem gamblers hope that they could get better and give them access to the resources to help them do it."

In 1982, Cummings led a group to New York City to study the gambling treatment clinics that had recently been set up there. He returned to Boston and spent the next year lobbying state lawmakers to set aside funding to aid problem gamblers in the state.

"Tom's goal was always to get people connected to treatment and to advocate for that treatment," said Scanlon. "He wasn't a politician, but he definitely had a gift for dealing with the decision makers who had the power to make things happen."

According to Scanlon, Cummings' larger-than-life personality and unwavering conviction also helped him form strong alliances with the lottery industry in the state, which played an important role in helping deliver messages about problem gambling throughout Massachusetts.

Cummings created the Mass Council in 1983 with no funding. His kitchen served as headquarters, where he fielded calls from troubled gamblers and their family members. In 1986, the state legislature passed a bill to fund the council from unclaimed winnings from the Massachusetts Lottery. The next year, the Mass Council opened a Boston office, and a year later, Massachusetts' first state-funded problem gambling treatment center opened its doors in Cambridge. Today, there are 17 state-funded problem gambling treatment centers throughout the state.

Cummings served as executive director of the Mass Council, lobbying for increased funding and developing programs for problem gamblers, until his death in 1998 at the age of 76. He died en route to a meeting of state gambling treatment center directors.

In 1995, the Mass Council gave Cummings an award for exceptional vision, courage and dedication in the field of problem gambling. The award was subsequently named the Thomas N. Cummings Award to honor the man who spent the last 15 years of his life helping problem gamblers.

Added Scanlon: "Tom always kept in mind that the real motivation for the council is helping people."