The Oregon Capital Chronicle reported that estimates show around 88,000 Oregonians meet the diagnosis for gambling addiction, with another 180,000 Oregonians currently at risk for developing the addiction, yet Oregon’s Problem Gambling Services treated only 796 people in FY22-23 (the most recent year for which data is available).
A new partnership between the Oregon Health Authority and Lewis & Clark College will fund counselor training programs to help address the gambling addiction problem in Oregon.
Joining the Exchange to discuss the problem and efforts to address it is Kate Madden, Interim Director of the Problem Gambling Services at Lewis & Clark School of Counseling and Education. Also joining the conversation is Greta Coe, Manager of Problem Gambling Services at the Oregon Health Authority.
From the state lottery to the stock market, from cryptocurrency to memecoins, bingo and sports betting—and even elections—gambling is embedded into Americans’ lives. Video games, social media, and phone apps now expose even young, developing brains to gambling behaviors in ever-increasing, often undetected ways. This normalized, ongoing near-ubiquitous access builds potentially addictive behavior from childhood through adolescence and across adulthood.
