Responsible Gaming
Missouri Gaming Association Supports Responsible Gaming Initiatives
The Missouri Gaming Association (MGA) funds 1-888-BETSOFF, a statewide telephone crisis line and referral service for problem gambling. Since 1995, MGA has voluntarily donated funds to Life Crisis Services, Inc. for the help-line. In addition to the help line, which provides immediate crisis response and referral services to the statewide network of outpatient gambling clinics and certified compulsive gambling counselors, a new e-mail option is available at freehelp@888betsoff.org to Missouri residents and their families to utilize these services. The phone line is managed by Life Crisis Services and operates twenty-four hours per day, seven days a week. Life Crisis Services is a provider of quality intervention services, primarily by telephone, with emphasis on caring support for callers and treatment referrals.
The Missouri Department of Mental Health provides free problem gambling treatment for any Missouri resident and their immediate family members. This free treatment is financed through the Compulsive Gamblers Fund, which receives one cent of each admission fee paid by the casino operators to the State. The actual treatment service is provided through a network of private mental health counselors with specialized training and certified by the Department of Mental Health. MGA strongly lobbied the Missouri General Assembly to enact Senate Bill 902 in 2001 to establish a dedicated source of treatment funds.
MGA is a charter member of the Missouri Alliance to Curb Problem Gambling (Alliance). The mission of the Alliance is to heighten public awareness of the dangers of problem gambling; develop prevention and education programs for gamblers of all ages; and direct problem gamblers and their families to the 1-888-BETSOFF helpline and free treatment. In addition to MGA, the governing members of the Alliance include: the Missouri Department of Mental Health; the Missouri Gaming Commission; the Missouri Lottery; Kansas City Port Authority; and the Missouri Council on Problem Gambling Concerns, Inc. a non-profit advocacy group for problem gamblers.