Health Secretary of State, Michelle Lujan, recently provided the results of a study carried out by experts of the Health Department and the University of New Mexico on gambling addicts in New Mexico, the problems caused by their addiction and the influence in their family life and work efficiency. The conclusions are quite alarming, especially since it seems there is not a solution for this problem and no one has been able to point out what might be the way to help gambling addicts. This is the first study carried out since 1996 and it will probably get to Governor Richardson this month, who had urged to examine this problem some months ago.
New Mexico legalized gambling in 1995, when the first legal casinos opened, state lottery was launched, and the first slot machines were brought. Since then no study was made in order to find out the level of gambling addiction among New Mexicans. The truth is that most of them do not even realize that they are addicts and even if they did the state cannot provide with enough rehabilitation programs for gambling addictions. As a matter of fact, a 20 percent of last years New Mexican gamblers were found to have serious gambling problems. They spent most money in casino gambling followed closely by race betting.
Health policy adviser, Michelle Welby, said that their main goal is to provide New Mexican addicts with enough rehabilitation programs long before they become compulsive gamblers with catastrophic consequences in their life. However, treatments available today rank from over 10,000 dollars to 25,000 dollars, and most gamblers cannot afford it.