By MATT CHANDLER
Buffalo Law Journal

Amherst Town Justice Hon. Mark Farrell traveled to Adelaide, Australia, in December at the request of the organizers of the 18th annual meeting of the National Association for Gambling Studies in Australia.

The group, which seeks to curb the gambling problem Down Under, asked Farrell to deliver a series of lectures and workshops, including a keynote address sharing his expertise in judicial handling of people addicted to gambling.

"It started a year ago when I was invited down to assist them with setting up gambling courts in Australia," Farrell explained. "The premise behind it is that they have a signifigant problem with gambling in Australia, but they also have a signifigant societal and community awareness of it."

Farrell, the senior justice on Amherst Town Court and an acting associate Buffalo City Court judge, pioneered the creation of the first - and for now only - gambling treatment court in the world. Since its inception in 2001, the court has worked to offer an alternative to people who have committed nonviolent crimes to support their gambling addiction.

During his time in Australia, Farrell said he saw a system to address compulsive gambling that is far advanced in comparison to what is available in the United States.

"They have have a ministerial-level position, a minister of gambling, and they have community oganizations to address the issue," he said.

Farrell also talked about the success of his drug court in Amherst, appearing on radio and television and speaking to politicians, educators, treatment providers and policy-makers.

"I was brought (to Australia) to be the driving force and to work with their judiciary policy makers," he said. "It was a pretty remarkable experience to be able to have that kind of ability to speak from experience and share what we are doing here."

The judge reports that 18 states, many of which are considering copycat courts, have asked the judge to share his expertise on compulsive gambling.

A recent study conducted by the National Coalition Against Legalized Gambling found that there was a direct link between compulsive gambling and crimes committed to support that addiction. The study estimates that there are 2.5 million pathological gamblers in the United States and an additional 3 million "problem gamblers."

Farrell says he saw a spike in petty crime, foreclosure, DWI arrests and domestic violence in conjunction with the opening of the first Canadian Casino in Niagara Falls in 1996, and that led him to create the gambling court, modeled after a program he created for drug addicts seven years earlier.

Compulsive gambling "is an addiction that the courts and a lot of elements of the government and society have never recognized," Farrell said. "We should be treating these people like we do drug addicts and alcoholics."

While his drug court has served more than 3,500 addicts in 14 years, Amherst's gambling court has graduated only about 30 compulsive gamblers since 2001.

"Identifying the gambling addict is the biggest challenge of all," he said. Though he works with their family members, significant others and co-workers, Farrell said identifying which defendants are problem gamblers is still the most difficult part of the process. Additionally, he points to the social stigma attached to gambling, which he said often keeps people from seeking help on their own.

"Most people feel that compulsive gamblers are character-flawed individuals - basically bad people who are irresponsible and taking advantage of others," he explained. "Because of that, most compulsive gamblers are more likely to admit they are a drug addict than a gambler."

As he continues to speak out about his unique gambling treatment court, which offers both a four-to-12-week educational track for problem gamblers and a more intensive yearlong program for addicts, Farrell said he hopes all of the attention raises awareness of the problem and leads to more people completing the program.

"This has been an all-consuming venture for the last six or seven years to deal with this growing problem in our society," he said. "But we are getting a lot of support locally, as well regional and national recognition for this program, and we see it making a difference."