Home > The ATTC/NIATx Service Improvement Blog > Midwest Consortium on Problem Gambling and Substance Abuse: Upcoming Conference Celebrates 15 years
Carol Spiker, LAC, CPP, KCGC
Problem Gambling Program Manager
Behavioral Health Services Commission
Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services
Gambling is an activity in which something of value is risked on a chance that something of value might be obtained, the outcome based on chance. Organized gambling has grown tremendously in the U.S. since the 1980’s because many people have been willing and eager to spend money in exchange for a chance at something bigger and better than what they have. States have legalized and expanded gambling with the promise of substantial economic benefit and tax revenue.
June 20-22, 2018,
Kansas City
15th Annual Midwest Conference on Problem Gambling and Substance Abuse
Nearly 80 percent of Americans report they have gambled in the past year. Americans spent an estimated $116.9 billion on legal gambling and an estimated $150 billion on illegal sports gambling in 2016. There is no question that legalized gambling has brought a multitude of economic benefit to communities in the form of tourist trade, tax revenue and funding for state and community level programs. It has also presented economic and social costs for states and communities. An estimated 1.5 to three percent of Americans are at risk of repeated problematic gambling behavior that result in consequences such as bankruptcy, crime, job loss, significant relationship problems, child abuse and neglect, physical and mental health problems, and suicide.
As gambling expansion evolved in the Midwest, a group of compassionate stakeholders from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma concerned about the social impact of disordered gambling and the comorbidity of substance abuse, collectively formed the Midwest Consortium on Problem Gambling andSubstance Abuse. In 2004, they held their first multi-state conference in St. Louis. Keeping true to the its mission, “to promote and unify education, science and services to improve the quality and availability of community-based problem gambling and substance abuse treatment services for individuals and families who need them,” the Consortium will hold its 15th annual conference in Kansas City, MO June 20-22.
Breakout presentations will include the keynote presenters and presenters who bring their expertise from Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, and New Jersey.
The opinions expressed herein are the views of the authors and do not reflect the official position of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), SAMHSA, CSAT or the ATTC Network. No official support or endorsement of DHHS, SAMHSA, or CSAT for the opinions of authors presented in this e-publication is intended or should be inferred.