Gambling addiction
State bears part of blame in Breen fiasco
Lives ruined. Families destroyed. A fortune squandered. Those are the destructive consequences, too often unseen and unheard, of addictive gambling as revealed in a Times' expose on compulsive gambler John Breen.
Mr. Breen abused the power of attorney and trust placed in him by his stepdaughter, supermodel Maggie Rizer, to gamble away millions of dollars in her personal fortune. He also betrayed his wife and son to feed his addiction fostered by the state's Quick Draw lottery program played throughout the day in bars, restaurants and other small businesses throughout the state.
Mr. Breen bears primary responsibility for his actions, and he is being held criminally accountable for them. The state Lottery Division said they found nothing illegal in the manner in which local Quick Draw outlets handled Mr. Breen's gambling activities, such as permitting him to run a tab. However, that should not be the end of the state's role.
Lottery officials should re-examine their regulations and procedures to determine how they can prevent a tragic repetition of what happened here in Jefferson County over several years before it collapsed on Mr. Breen. Rather than merely advise gamblers against running up tabs to be paid later, the state should ban them from doing so.
The conduct of bar and restaurant owners should be given closer scrutiny. Gambling revenue should be collected daily to make it more difficult to extend credit to compulsive gamblers. The Legislature should conduct hearings on the problem and devise ways to deter compulsive gamblers.
As other articles on problem gamblers showed, people are being victimized by state-endorsed gambling, be it in casinos or closer to home in the corner pub. Since the lottery's inception in the 1960s, the state has fostered gambling on the premise that state involvement could control it.
By encouraging gambling, the state is culpable. The best scenario would be for the state to get out of the gambling business, but that is unlikely. The state has become addicted to gambling, relying as it does on the revenue to fund education and balance the budget.
Given state participation, the state Legislature with the cooperation of the Division of Lottery and the Alcohol and Beverage Control Board, should enact regulatory reforms to prevent the state from becoming an enabler for people with chronic gambling problems.