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Just days after bailing out the Mental Health Department, The Oklahoma Legislature has scheduled a vote on intensified gambling activities which are currently illegal.
Oklahoma's gambling addiction epidemic is a growing problem for the dept. of mental health & substance abuse services, which cannot currently address the problem because of a decade of under-funding and a state govt. which is corrupted by tribal money buying political power whereby the state's public policy is ignoring the man-made crisis. Former Senator, Rick Brinkley is just one of the tens of thousands of lives destroyed by an irresponsible and racist policy where a select group of tribes has rights which other races are barred from inclusion. Senator Brinkley would be the Senate President Pro Temp right now, if his devastating addiction hadn't done him in. Brinkley succeeded in his corruption far longer than most can, because he was seen as the epitome of honor and ethics. He was the director of the Tulsa Better Business Bureau, which made him the judge of who is ethical in the business community. He was also a local pastor and college educated in mental health matters. A graduate of Oral Roberts University. |
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The Oklahoman reports the state is allowing the destruction of tens of thousands of lives, in exchange for $184 million dollars to "fix the budget". Read the 2010 story, in the Oklahoman.
Gambling in Oklahoma has contributed more than $184 million to state government revenues, but it has come at a cost to tens of thousands of Oklahomans who have become problem gamblers, experts say.
Up to 200,000 Oklahomans — from a 70-something lady dressed in her Sunday best to the college student hunched over his computer — are considered problem or pathological gamblers, said Wiley Harwell, director of the Oklahoma Association for Problem and Compulsive Gambling. |
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Former senator, Rick Brinkley, embezzled over $1 million dollars from Oklahomans, because of his casino gambling addiction went unnoticed.
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Oklahomans have lost their homes, spouses and retirement funds to gambling, said Jo Ann Pearce, executive director of A Chance to Change, a state gambling treatment contractor that has seen a 50 percent increase this year in demand for services.
"It’s not uncommon to see hundreds of thousands of dollars in expenditures” by gamblers, Harwell said. And while the state has seen a windfall in terms of revenues and jobs, very little of that money has been used to help problem gamblers. A small fraction American Indian gaming topped the contributions to state revenues with almost $113 million. The lottery came in a distant second at nearly $69 million while horse racing contributed $2.7 million. |
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“The reality is, that I’m an addict. And I’m an addict for a variety of reasons, but they know that there is at least another 150,000 people just like me in the state of Oklahoma who deals with this every single day,” says Brinkley.
The current bill goes to a floor vote, today. There has been no proper study or committee testimony on the impact of gambling. But there is an emerging connection between Speaker Charles McCall and tribal money donated to legislative efforts.
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The Dept. of Mental Health identifies gambling addictions as a behavioral problem. they posted this on their website...
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Gambling in the State of Oklahoma has changed dramatically over the past years. Today, it is more accessible, more accepted and more glamorized than ever before. Gambling has become part of Oklahoma's landscape, culture, and economy with horse tracks, 'racinos', the compulsive gambling doubles in areas within 50 miles of a casino.
Oklahoma provides services to adults and adolescents with gambling related disorders/problems. Gambling disorders includes pathological gambling, problem gambling, and relative or significant other of a person with a gambling problem. |
