Oklahoma ranks as the fifth most gambling-addicted state in America, with an estimated 75,000 problem gamblers and historically high numbers of gambling-related embezzlement cases. According to a June study from the National Council on Problem Gambling, 60 percent of surveyed state citizens think the gaming industry should do more to help addicts. Similarly, 38 percent think the government should do more.
“We’re third in the nation for number of slot machines, and yet we’re 20th in the nation in money for treatment, awareness and so forth,” said Wiley Harwell, director of the Oklahoma Association on Problem and Compulsive Gambling.
In Oklahoma, tribal nations have
exclusive rights to operate casinos, except for games administered at horse racing tracks. The compact defining the state-tribal agreement is the subject of an ongoing and tense
political fight. What no one disputes is that gaming revenue helps fund tribal programs for education, infrastructure, health care and more.
“(Gaming is) the cornerstone of our business portfolio, which means that it’s the cornerstone of our economic independence,” said Cherokee Nation Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. “It has fueled so much of what we’ve been able to do.”
Harwell said tribal donations account for more than half his budget. He said some tribes also fund their own programs and health centers that address behavioral health issue, such as problem gambling.
“Tribes definitely participate,” Harwell said. “There are about five large tribes that contribute to us financially.”
The board of Harwell’s
nonprofit includes a central voice in tribal gaming: Matthew Morgan, chairman of the Oklahoma Indian Gaming Association. Together, the two organizations lead
Tribal Voices, a responsible gaming advocacy group that promotes a Smart Play OK campaign for responsible gambling.
In addition, Morgan works as director of gaming for the Chickasaw Nation, which operates 22 of Oklahoma’s 134 casinos and reported $1.4 billion in gaming revenue for 2017. A founding member of Harwell’s organization, the Chickasaw Nation donates $50,000 to it annually, Morgan said.
The Cherokee Nation is also a member of the Oklahoma Association on Problem and Compulsive Gambling and has donated nearly $550,000 to the organization over the past three years, said Jason McCarty, the tribe’s public affairs liaison.
“They don’t tell us how (donations) can be spent,” Harwell said. “It’s just to help problem gamblers.”
‘Half a drop in the bucket’ for addiction treatment
Under Oklahoma’s 2004 model gaming compact, tribes pay the state anywhere from 4 to 10 percent of gaming revenue for exclusive rights to operate casinos. For 2018, exclusivity fees totaled nearly $139 million. Most of that money goes to two state accounts: the education reform fund and the general revenue fund.
But $250,000 comes off the top of that amount and goes to the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to assist with gambling addiction treatment.
Rick Brinkley, a former state senator who served prison time for embezzling
at least $1.8 million from Tulsa’s Better Business Bureau, said $250,000 is hardly “half a drop in the bucket” of what is required to treat those with gambling problems in Oklahoma.
“I can almost guarantee you that any embezzlement case — or the greatest majority of embezzlement cases — filed in the state are tied to gambling,” Brinkley said. “And so the taxpayers are picking up the tab for trials and for prosecutions and for incarceration.”
Harwell’s nonprofit is contracted with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. The department is a “safety net” organization that helps low-income citizens get treatment, said ODMHSAS public information officer Jeff Dismukes.
The $250,000 allocated to state addiction services is sparse, Harwell said. But he and Morgan say it’s a legislative issue, not a tribal compact issue.
“The state Legislature always has the ability to go back to adjust those monies in their capacity as the policy makers,” Morgan said.
Donelle Harder, Oklahoma deputy secretary of state, said the problem is bigger than just gambling.
“On a broad scope, we have a lot of addiction issues in the state of Oklahoma, not just gambling,” she said. “We are top in the country for drug addiction. I think you have to get down to the root of the matter, and really also address it from a holistic perspective of mental health overall.”
‘If you don’t get help, you just lose so many things’
Sheryl Zuker, 55, lives in eastern Oklahoma and said she goes to casinos once or twice a month. She thinks the gaming industry does well at promoting addiction resources. When casinos send her promotional mail, she said information about problem gambling is always featured.
“(Casinos) give you the opportunity to get help if you need it,” Zuker said.
Thank goodness for Jeff Smith but the next play.... :bang 
