Image by David Meza

Gambling Risks As A New Mandatory Course In Maryland High Schools

Article by : Helen Feb 9, 2021

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Bryan Simonaire, Senator of Maryland, has recently submitted a bill regarding the new course material in the schools’ curriculum. He wants high schoolers to have a gambling course, so the students will learn everything about gambling. His goal is not to teach children how to play gambling games but to show all the problems related to this activity. Last year Senator tried to introduce a similar bill, but it was rejected. In case a bill is approved this time, schoolers will start learning a new subject in the 2022 school year.

Nowadays, a part of gambling revenue in the state is allocated to the Maryland Health Department. The Problem Gambling Fund uses the money for treating gambling addiction. Casinos pay $425 for a slot machine, and a gambling table costs $500. As a result, the state received $5.3 million in the 2019 fiscal year. Bryan Simonaire said in his interview: “From a governmental policy standpoint, the state receives money from gambling revenues that can be used to help other priorities in our state, but also adversely enables many citizens to become gambling addicts, which creates other issues for the state.”

According to the studies, people between the ages of 18 to 34 are at risk of developing gambling problems. These studies’ result was the main reason why Simonaire is trying to amend the school curriculum. The research made by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation in Australia showed that people in lower socioeconomic classes are more vulnerable and are at higher risk of gambling addiction.

The Department of Education (DOE) is required by the Senate Bill (SB 0243) to add a course about the games of chance’s dangers to the school program. There would be developed a general curriculum available for every school in the state, or the schools might create their own course in keeping with the DOE’s guidance.

Last year Simonaire already tried to introduce his bill to the Senate and got much support there. Despite this, the House of Delegates didn’t vote on this Bill, and one (but not the only) reason was that the legislative session was suspected because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Another reason might be related to the resistance Bill 322 faced in the Senate.

Cheryl Kagan and Paul Pinsky are two Senators who didn’t express their support for the Bill 322 last year. This year’s Bill won’t enlist the Senators’ support, and Cheryl Kagan has already opposed Bill 0243, saying that the Department of Education shouldn’t impose new demands on educational institutions. “It is a widely held philosophy that the state should not mandate curriculum requirements on our 24 local school systems. Our Local Boards of Education were elected to represent their communities and are best equipped to decide the curriculum for students in their county,” said Kagan. At the same time, Pinsky, the chair of the Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee, hasn’t spoken out against the Bill yet. As far as the Association of Boards of Education has expressed its support for the Bill, Simonaire becomes more assertive and confident.

I have worked extremely hard to provide consensus among the stakeholders. At this point, I believe there won’t be any opposition to the bill this year.

Simonaire still has to deal with some other opponents of his bill. Last year the spokespersons from both The Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners and Anne Arundel County Public School testified against the bill. They also go on speaking out against it in 2021.