“Problem gambling is not just a personal problem, it’s a family, community and state problem. One individual that struggles with gambling-related harm negatively impacts eight to 10 other individuals,” Brianne Doura-Schawohl, the former vice president of U.S. Policy and Strategic Development for global harm prevention consultancy EPIC Risk Management and now head of Doura-Schawohl Consulting LLC, said at a recent meeting of the newly created Joint Subcommittee to Study the Feasibility of Establishing the Virginia Gaming Commission in Richmond.
I think more shocking was when I did an estimate for the annual cost we as the taxpayers are incurring because we are not funding this efficiently, including divorce, bankruptcy, crime, healthcare for suicidal ideations, depression and anxiety,” Doura-Schawohl told the committee. “We are talking about individuals who are in the throes of an addiction which often compromises their finances.”