Rutgers opens gambling studies institute

Rutgers opens gambling studies institute

	Published : Wed, 07 Mar 2007 16:00 By : Agencies Print this Story

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) - New Jersey has 11 casinos under siege from out-of-state competition and plans to invest billions in expansion projects. Its racetracks want to offer slot machine gambling, but compulsive gambling poses a serious risk for many individuals and families.

In a state where legalized gambling is a key component of the economy and the casinos a fixture of the entertainment scene, Rutgers University has opened a center to study the industry from legal, societal and economic angles, and make recommendations to key decision-makers on how to deal with the industry's promise and problems.

The university's School of Social Work recently opened the Center for Gambling Studies in the belief that gambling is just as crucial to the state's economy and worthy of serious academic study as pharmaceuticals, agriculture or molecular biology.

'As states become increasingly dependent on gambling revenues, there also needs to be a mindfulness of all the related issues,' said Lia Nower, associate professor of social work and the center's director. 'We want to provide sound, objective expertise for the legislators, the gambling industry and other key stakeholders who can make sound decisions.'

An important part of the center's work will be to train counselors in issues relating to problem gambling among adults and children so that they will be able to attain certification to work in the field.

Located on the New Brunswick campus, the center will study gambling across the world as well as in New Jersey, where Atlantic City is one of the nation's top gambling resorts.

'There is considerable debate and research about gambling -- as a business, as a policy issue and as a social or personal problem,' said Richard Edwards, dean of the social work school. 'But there aren't many places in the country that take a multidisciplinary approach to studying gambling and its effects on individuals and society. We want our center to do that.'

Ed Looney, executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey, is excited about the center.

'The addiction rate for college-age people is twice that of the adult population, so to have that presence on a university is very important,' he said.

Nower, a lawyer who served as an assistant prosecutor in St. Louis County, Mo., before returning to graduate school to study social work, 'is very well educated and knowledgeable on pathological gambling,' Looney said. 'She will definitely make her mark here.'

Companies with casinos in Atlantic City include Columbia Entertainment, Harrah's Entertainment, Boyd Gaming Corp., MGM Mirage and Trump Entertainment Resorts.