LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Mark Kaelin grew up in Lexington. He remembers going to Keeneland, participating in Derby festivities, and even poker games at his grandmother's house.
He says, "I believe I probably felt I was predisposed to gambling at a really young age."
He recalls that his gambling became a problem when he started to have a family.
"It was really tearing me up. I always worked hard to make enough money to continue my compulsive gambling and then my children and my wife and my family are the ones that took the brunt of it,” says Kaelin.
Now, he's gone seven years without placing a bet. Kaelin knows that there's excitement over new laws allowing sports betting in the Bluegrass. He's not against it. Kaelin and organizations like the Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling want people to know help is available.
Michael Stone, KYCPG's executive director, says to ask three questions before gambling, "Whether it's appropriate to gamble, knowing that gambling is an entertainment. When it's appropriate to gamble, knowing that you don't want to gamble to relieve stress or to get out of an uncomfortable situation, and... how much to gamble."
Stone says up to 64,000 Kentuckians battle gambling addiction, and up to 165,000 show signs of having a gambling problem.
He says, "Debt, bankruptcy, domestic abuse, ill health, depression. Those are all factors that come and evolve."
He also shares that gamblers have high suicide rates.
Funds from the Kentucky Problem Gambling Assistance account aren't expected until next year. Help is still available — from trained counselors, a helpline, Gamblers Anonymous, and people in recovery like Kaelin.
"The emotional pain that's involved in it, when you see that in another person that comes and reaches out for help, I just can’t help myself. I just want them to understand that they're not alone. There are ways out there that we can all work together to help them through this,” says Kaelin.
KYCPG wants people to make sure they're gambling responsibly.
Resources are available online at www.KYCPG.orgor by phone at 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537).
