‘I’m Treating Guys Who Would Never Be Caught Dead in a Casino’

In its power to ruin and even end lives, gambling addiction is remarkably similar to drug dependency. State gambling regulators have called foul, but the federal government has so far made no move to stop the companies. Several recent trends suggest that problem gambling might be on the rise in the U.S. Calls to state gambling helplines have increased. “I’m treating guys who would never be caught dead in a casino,” James Whelan, a clinical psychologist who runs treatment clinics for gambling addiction in Tennessee, told me. The state’s gambling laws are among the strictest in the country, and yet it still sends the second-highest number of callers (behind California) to 1-800-GAMBLER.