Floridians are twice as likely as other Americans to be at risk for developing gambling problems and our state has double the percentage of problem and compulsive gamblers according to a new study by the University of Florida. Even while such troubling news was coming from Gainesville, hordes of gambling lobbyists had descended on Tallahassee to push for the most aggressive expansion of gambling in the Sunshine State since the lottery was legalized more than a decade ago.

If these gambling interests succeed in their mission, it will be only too clear who is at fault in a State Legislature that is not merely controlled by, but dominated by Republicans and with a Republican in the Governor’s Mansion.

In a first statewide study of problem gambling in Florida, University of Florida researchers interviewed 1,504 Florida residents 18 and older between Oct. 16 and Dec. 2 about their gambling activity, financial indebtedness, gambling problems, alcohol and drug use, mental health and demographic information.

"Based on conservative screening criteria used in the national survey, UF researchers found that 200,000 Floridians have suffered serious gambling-related difficulties in their lives, with another 135,000 currently experiencing such problems," a Feb. 25 UF news release noted. "The numbers were even higher — half a million and 250,000, respectively — when the researchers used another common assessment measure. The figures do not include the millions of others who are affected by gamblers’ activities."

Among the more important findings of the study:

• Florida has more than double the percentage of problem and compulsive gamblers — 1.1 percent compared to .5 percent nationally;
• An additional 5.2 percent of Floridians are at risk of becoming problem gamblers compared to 2.3 percent nationally;
• Men are twice as likely to be at-risk gamblers, and 10 times more likely than women to be problem and pathological gamblers;
• Those with problems gambling also were much more likely to use tobacco, alcohol and marijuana and other illegal drugs;
• Residents between 50 and 65 years (32.9 percent) were more likely to be weekly gamblers than people in any other age category;
• On average, at-risk, problem and compulsive gamblers start at much earlier ages (18.7 to 21.6 years) than low-risk gamblers (27.5 years).

"While Florida is not the No. 1 state in terms of gambling problems, we certainly can get there quickly if we don’t address the at-risk gamblers in the state," said Nathan A. Shapira, who led the UF study.

Pat Fowler, the head of the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, told the Associated Press, "We have an abundance of gambling opportunities in the state of Florida." Fowler notes that Florida has a lottery, dog and horse tracks, bingo, jai alai, six casinos on Indian reservations and more than two dozen "cruises to nowhere," where ships take gamblers 3 miles offshore to play slot machines, blackjack and other casino-style games in international waters.

But that abundance is apparently not enough for some in the State Legislature.

As of March 4 there were no fewer than seven bills in the House and Senate under serious consideration that would expand gambling in Florida. For example, legislation with the stated purpose of requiring dog tracks to promote greyhound adoptions has become the vehicle for expansion of gambling activities. The Senate has already approved SB 160 that increases operating hours and raises the betting limits in card rooms at Florida’s racetracks. The House version of the so-called greyhound adoption bill (HB 631) goes even further by legalizing at dog tracks the existence of video slot machines — what some call the crack cocaine of gambling addictions. Senators have also approved a bill to allow charities to sell instant scratch-off bingo tickets (SB 182), in spite of the opposition from the governor, attorney general and the statewide prosecutor’s office.

I visited Tallahassee last week for the Florida Leadership Prayer Breakfast and to report on the efforts of Dr. Randy Armstrong to protect women from abortionists guilty of malpractice (a bill that is stalled in the Republican-controlled Senate as of March 4). I found the pro-family advocates to be dispirited by the gambling legislation onslaught and the seeming lack of resistance from legislative leaders. In fact, there was some speculation around the Capitol that Republican leaders may allow some of the gambling bills to become law, apparently to appease other non-profit groups.

When a brand new study demonstrates with empirical facts what Southern Baptists already know to be biblically true, it’s clear that this is no time for expansion of an already too ubiquitous presence of gambling in the Sunshine State. With about two weeks left in the session, there’s still time to make a difference. Contact your legislators and the governor and tell them not to gamble with our future.