ALBUQUERQUE – The New Mexico Lottery and the New Mexico Council on Problem Gambling will work together to provide problem gambling rehabilitation services statewide.
Under the terms of a four-year contract, the lottery will pay the council a total of $70,000 to provide its gambling-specific crisis hotline. If lottery sales grow by 4 percent during any one year of the four-year contract, the lottery will pay the council an additional $1,000 a year over the life of the contract.
The council’s hotline – 1-800-572-1142 – is accessible 24 hours a day from anywhere in New Mexico. Services are provided by trained personnel in English, Spanish and Navajo. Callers may remain anonymous.
“The lottery’s support enables the hotline staff to provide problem gamblers and their families with free counseling and crisis intervention,” said Kandace Blanchard, the council’s clinical director. “Access to these services is important and we are thankful for the lottery’s commitment to be proactive on behalf of New Mexico’s families.”
The New Mexico Lottery has been working with the council since 1998.
“As a member of the gaming industry, we have an obligation to make counseling and intervention easy to find by people who might have any type of gambling problem,” said David Barden, New Mexico Lottery CEO.
The lottery publishes the crisis hotline number on its Scratcher tickets and on other marketing and advertising materials. Information about problem gambling assistance is also posted to the lottery’s website at www.nmlottery.com.