During the 2009 fiscal year, the number of Oklahomans calling a hotline dedicated to the treatment of compulsive and problem gambling increased, and it’s unclear if the problem is trickling down to the student population at OU.

According to the Oklahoma Association of Problem and Compulsive Gambling’s 2009 fiscal year report, the helpline took 912 calls. That number is up from 677 calls received during the 2008 fiscal year.

“There was a huge increase in calls this past year,” said Wiley Harwell, executive director of Oklahoma Association of Problem and Compulsive Gambling. “We treated 100 more people last year than the year before.”

However, Harwell said it is hard to know the exact number of students who deal with problem gambling because of a lack of research.

“We don’t have any federal dollars investigating problem gambling,” Harwell said. “Part of our real problem is we don’t have the money to fund or finance good studies.”

Harwell said a number of studies at universities have revealed considerable numbers of students who deal with problem gambling issues.

He pointed to an August study by the University of Missouri that found 2 to 7 percent of students among Missouri universities reported they thought they had a gambling problem.

Harwell said this number is about two to three times the national average.

“It’s more of an issue than people want to realize,” Harwell said. “And part of the problem is we don’t have any real research about how many college students are in trouble.”

According to the study, the most prevalent forms of gambling among college students consisted of slot machines, private poker games, other casino games and sports betting pools.

Harwell said part of the problem is that a student’s frontal lobe, which recognizes future consequences resulting from current actions, is not fully developed in college-aged people.

“If you train your brain early enough to keep playing, that begins to impair the frontal lobe activity,” Harwell said.

He said a problem gambler is much more likely to spend money on roulette or slot machines, because rounds end quickly, and there is a constant temptation to play again or increase bets, as opposed to a state lottery where the gambler must wait until the next drawing to see results.

Harwell said legalizing gambling so the government could regulate it could provide a solution, but that it is unlikely in Oklahoma, because the state receives a large sum of money from casinos.

“It’s a delicate issue when it comes to regulating gambling in Oklahoma,” Harwell said. “Most of our representatives or senators don’t want to touch it because that’s part of their constituency.”

However, he said tribal casinos have been very supportive of the Oklahoma Association of Problem and Compulsive Gambling.

“The tribes understand that they have to be in the problem gambling business, and they do a lot to support our group and create awareness that there is a problem,” Harwell said.

Finding out if OU students have dealt with problem gambling is difficult. Goddard Health Center officials would not release any statistical information pertaining to students who have sought help for problem gambling issues. The state government does not collect any data on the issue of casino gambling among college students.

Tim Allen, Oklahoma deputy treasurer for Policy and Administration, said nothing but revenue is collected from tribal casinos that the state has contracts with.

“We have contracts with various tribes, and they simply pay us a fee [as a] percentage on certain games, and we don’t collect any other type of data,” Allen said.

Kyle Wright, business junior, said he gambles whenever he has some extra money, but that the recent economic recession has affected how much he and his friends gamble.

“Money is definitely tighter now,” Wright said. “I support myself, and I don’t have as much money now to gamble.”

However, the numbers suggest that many Oklahomans still have plenty of money available for gambling.

Overall, state revenue from casinos hit a high of $106 million in the 2009 fiscal year, according to the state finance department. The total is about a 16 percent increase.

Total state gambling revenue, including casino revenue, lottery revenue and money from combination horse race tracks and casinos, totalled $189 million in the 2009 fiscal year, up from $163 million in 2008, according to the Office of State Finance.

A spokesman at State Treasurer Scott Meacham’s office said college students would probably not contribute significantly to the overall revenue.

Those numbers contrast with a 2.6 percent decline nationally, according to a September study by the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute for Government.

The 2.6 percent decrease marks the first time in 30 years revenues have declined nationally.

Harwell said the best solution to problem gambling is to raise awareness and to train counselors specifically for problem gambling issues.

“You can’t assume your normal background in counseling and substance abuse treatment is going to be sufficient to treat your problem gambler,” Harwell said. “It’s a fairly unique disorder that needs some special help.”