KYCPG History
The Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling (KYCPG), a non-profit, 501(c)(3) charitable organization was founded in 1995 and incorporated as a Kentucky non-profit organization in 1996. It began as the vision of Curtis L. Barrett, Ph.D., professor emeritus, University of Louisville. He saw in his teaching and practice that pathological gambling (then known as compulsive gambling) was an existing concern for Kentucky, and that action was needed to raise awareness of the issue among the citizenry, with governments and even inside the gambling industry, itself. With organizing donations from the Kentucky Lottery Corporation and Churchill Downs, Inc., KYCPG (then called the Kentucky Council on Compulsive Gambling) began to organize training conferences and develop awareness materials.
As an affiliate of the National Council on Problem Gambling, KYCPG does not oppose gambling or wagering as entertainment. In fact, the Kentucky Council is gambling neutral –- gambling exists and many people enjoy the pastime. When gambling no longer is a game, the Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling seeks to help those threatened by the addiction. The Kentucky Council’s purpose is to inform professionals and the Commonwealth’s citizens of this debilitating emotional illness and public-health concern that could negatively affect your business and personal relationships.
In 2001, KYCPG adopted its current name, and followed in 2002 by developing a vision, mission and series of strategic goals. The mission is: “to increase awareness of problem gambling, advocate for widespread availability of treatment for problem gamblers, and promote research and education on problem gambling.”
Following are highlights of some of the projects in which he Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling has invested in an effort to fulfill its mission:
• The 1-800-GAMBLER helpline, providing crisis intervention and referral to treatment or self-assistance.
• Outreach programs and an annual conference that educate treatment professionals and the general public.
• Encouragement of more treatment professionals accredited to counsel addicted gamblers and their families. Working in cooperation with the state Division of Behavioral Health, KYCPG has helped increase the number of certified counselors in Kentucky from one in 1998 to ten today. With additional help from special corporate sponsors, KYCPG presented an Exam Preparation Workshop to encourage counselors to seek certification by the American Compulsive Gambling Counselor Certification Board. Twenty-five counselors took the Exam in October 2002, and 23 passed.
• Training programs on gambling awareness that can be presented to community organizations, schools and the gaming industry. In 2001, KYCPG debuted Lesson Plans on Gambling Behavior, a curriculum model aimed at middle and high school youth. A second curriculum -- Choices. There Always IS a Right One! -- debuted in 2005. Produced in cooperation with the Kentucky Lottery Corporation, the 50-minute addiction awareness program for middle and high school students is distributed at no cost to schools.
• Increasing self-help opportunities through cooperation with Gamblers Anonymous and Gam-Anon.
• Industry, education and volunteer awards recognizing contributions to or treatment of pathological gambling.
• Initially published When It’s More Than a Game . . ., an awareness brochure on compulsive gambling, and It’s a Great Game, an awareness booklet. KYCPG also distributes the booklet Personal Financial Strategies for the Loved Ones of Problem Gamblers, and produces the bimonthly newsletter, Inside the Numbers. In 2008, KYCPG produced in cooperation with the Indiana Council on Problem Gambling an awareness brochure targeting charitable gaming. In 2010, KYCPG produced in cooperation with the MidCentral Alliance on Problem Gambling an awareness brochure targeting human resource and employee assistance professionals.
• Helped develop a coalition among the gaming industry, government and certified gambler counselors to conduct the statewide Responsible Gaming Education Week held during the first week of August each year. KYCPG also participates in National Problem Gambling Awareness Week each March.
• Served as the local host of the National Conference on Problem Gambling in Louisville, KY, in June 2003. KYCPG Past-President Caleb Cooley served as a National Council on Problem Gambling Board member and as the organization’s treasurer. KYCPG Executive Director Michael R. Stone also served as an NCPG Board member and helped draft the NCPG strategic plan and current bylaws.
• KYCPG President Herbert E. Newman, Psy.D., and KYCPG Professional Adviser Curtis L. Barrett, Ph.D., both serve on the American Compulsive Gambling Counselor Certification Board.
• KYCPG was the founding council of the MidCentral Alliance on Problem Gambling, which also includes the state councils on problem gambling affiliated with NCPG in Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
The American Psychiatric Association recognized gambling addiction as a pathological disorder in 1980. It is a behavior that is devastating to the individual and his or her family, friends, employers and associates. With any increase of gaming opportunities, evidence indicates that more individuals with compulsive or problem gambling behavior will surface. National research indicates that compulsive gambling afflicts one in every 100 persons. A survey commissioned by KYCPG and conducted in the Fall 2008 by the University of Kentucky Survey Research Center identified 9,000 pathological gamblers, 50,000 problem gamblers and 190,000 at-risk gamblers in Kentucky.
Membership in the Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling shows concern for those who may develop a gambling problem or addiction. The Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling knows your concern. Your contribution and membership will support efforts to identify, educate and provide help. Thank you for your consideration.
Please let the Kentucky Council know whether any of its programs can be of use. The Council strives to create a partnership to serve those addicted to gambling and their families.