Casino Culture Takes Hold in Downstate New York: A Call for Awareness and Prevention
Casino culture is set to become a defining presence in downstate New York after the state Gaming Commission approved three casinos in Queens and the Bronx this week. While the excitement over billions in gaming, hotel, and retail taxes promises to boost surrounding communities, the impact of gambling addiction on public health appears to be an afterthought.
As a behavioral health professional, my team and I are preparing to manage the fallout when so-called “entertainment” turns into full-blown addiction. Our patients with gambling use disorder—commonly known as gambling addiction—are an undeniable part of New York’s gambling landscape. They embody the very concerns the state seemed to have before factoring gambling revenue into its budget.
The state Gaming Facility Location Board’s decision to approve three licenses in one region, followed by the commission’s quick endorsement, may create problems faster than we can solve them. We anticipate grappling with rising calls to gambling helplines, while downstate communities may face the broader consequences often linked with gambling addiction: binge drinking, substance use, and mental health challenges.
A troubling reality underscores this concern: an increasing number of people mistakenly—and sometimes tragically—believe they can “win” at gambling. This widespread misconception is especially alarming alongside gambling proponents’ misunderstanding of the dangers their products pose.
Intrusive, compulsive thoughts and behaviors are common across all addictions—whether involving alcohol, drugs, or gambling apps. Brain imaging studies and neurochemical tests support classifying gambling disorder alongside other forms of addiction.
Gambling feeds on uncertainty by activating the brain’s reward system. While this might seem paradoxical to a non-addicted person, for someone struggling with gambling addiction, risk itself becomes part of the reward.
Messages urging people to “please gamble responsibly” displayed in casinos, commercials, and lottery tickets are no match for the neurobiology of addiction. This fact is well understood among addiction treatment professionals but often overlooked by gambling advocates who favor the rhetoric of personal responsibility. Such messaging misses the point and ignores addiction’s true nature.
We understand addiction far better today than during the tobacco crisis of the 1980s and 1990s, or the more recent opioid epidemic. If we want to prevent gambling from becoming the next epidemic, we need a new approach—one that doesn’t waste time denying the allure of harmful products or shifting blame onto those struggling with addiction.
We must look beyond revenue, land, and licenses to see the entire landscape.
It may be years before we fully understand how the promised economic benefits of three new casinos in one urban region will play out—especially since two aim to open as late as 2030. But what is clear now is that increased accessibility and social acceptability of casinos lead to higher gambling participation, which in turn can escalate related problems.
Believing that we can “win” at gambling is a dangerous fallacy. In reality, the only consistent winners are the house and the apps.
Families and communities must learn to identify the signs of problem gambling. The health system where I work is striving to stay ahead of this issue by taking a public health approach. We treat gambling as a primary addiction, implement screening tools to identify potential problem gamblers, and educate school leaders about the rising rates of gambling among teens.
Prevention is crucial because children and teens face higher risks than adults for developing gambling problems. Those who start gambling young are more likely to develop gambling addiction later in life. They need to hear early and often: no one is one bet away from a life-changing victory.
Hopefully, this message can be heard clearly over the noise of three new casinos.
*Heather Hugelmeyer, LCSW,
Senior Director for Behavioral Health, Northwell Health*
https://www.newsday.com/opinion/commentary/guest-essays/new-york-city-casinos-op521a5f
