My son Ben gambled on his life –and lost. The police report said he died in an auto accident due to mechanical failure. But that is only part of the story that led to his death at just 29 years old.

Ben was obsessed with gambling. He had attended and successfully completed a gambling rehabilitation program. But the program could not repair the six years of financial devastation caused by his addiction. He spent his money at the blackjack table instead of on the essentials of life, car maintenance.

The tragic turn of events in Ben’s life doesn’t have to be repeated by others. Compulsive gambling can be treated successfully. It is a question whether we as a society, our government and the gambling industry, are willing to make such treatment available.

Gambling is a multi-billion dollar industry in this state, with net revenues in excess of $1.5 billion in 2003. The amount of money actually gambled by Washington citizens is several billions dollars annually and the overwhelming majority of people who gamble participate responsibly.

However, as our gambling activities and revenue have expanded over the past 10 years, the Lottery Commission funded 4 separate studies that revealed that 8 percent of the State’s adolescent population is made up of problem gamblers and 5 percent of the adult population is similarly affected.

It’s regrettable that state government has almost totally neglected this critical and treatable problem. There are no publicly or privately funded treatment programs for problem gamblers in Washington and only a very limited number of mental health professionals with training to recognize and treat the disorder. This indifference has occasionally been interrupted by the willingness of several legislators to attempt to fund some treatment. Unfortunately, even as recently as the 2004 legislative session, their initiatives failed when any other objective took priority.

Gamblers are not parasites on the public purse: quite the contrary. Their gambling dollars help fund vital state and local government services. Currently, the Lottery Commission is advertising that for a single year they are able to contribute $100 million to education in Washington. A significant gesture but the long term costs to the community of the blatant endorsement and promotion of gambling by state government is profound.

The societal costs resulting from problem gambling are significant. The list is practically endless and repeats the tragic outcomes of many addictive disorders: the breakdown of families, domestic violence and other criminal activity and financial insolvencies.

Today, in Washington we are confronted with the threat of a monumental expansion of gambling by the addition of thousands of video slot machines. These have been referred to as the “the crack cocaine” of gambling…. And by deliberate design, the most addictive form of gambling. The numbers of compulsive gamblers in this State have reached epidemic proportions, and it is currently our States most prevalent untreated illness.

We don’t need access to more gambling before we create access to treatment.

It’s to late for my son and our family but it’s not too late for every other problem gambler and their families. The industry that profit’s from the gambler’s losses must appreciate that the priority for gambling revenue needs to be mitigating the chaos their business practices create before paying for sports stadiums, larger casinos and more machines.

It is the cost of doing business.