US National Council on Problem Gambling Relaunching Bill

Tuesday August 16,2011 :  BIPARTISAN SUPPORT GROWING FOR PROBLEM GAMBLING BILL
 
Rejuvenated measure has the support of the National Council on Problem Gambling
 
The US National Council on Problem Gambling is urging Congress to support a re-launched bill aimed at improving knowledge of, and protection for, problem gamblers.
 
The bill, HR2334 The Comprehensive Problem Gambling Bill of 2011, is a re-launch of a similar measure which did not succeed in the last session of Congress. It was re-launched on June 23 2011 (see previous InfoPowa report) by Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA), who has been joined in promoting the measure by Representatives Wolf (R-VA), Berkley (D-NV) and Hastings (D-FL), all previous sponsors of the bill last session.
 
The NCPG says the bill is an important first step that formalises the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's authority to address problem gambling, the first-ever Federal agency to have such a mandate. The new legalization lays the groundwork for future awareness and advocacy efforts, including securing dedicated Federal funding.
 
"We will highlight the bill at our upcoming National Conference on Problem Gambling and use that opportunity to launch another grassroots campaign to garner support for the bill," a spokesman for the NCPG said recently.
 
"We'll be working with the Federal Affairs Committee on this initiative and have already prepared a one-page fact sheet on the bill and the full text of the legalization will be available from the Government Printing Office.
 
"We look forward to working with advocates across the country to pass this historic bill."