Keith Whyte is a good guy. As the Executive Director of the National Council on Problem Gambling, you would hope so. He is a straight talker, a moderate and he is collaborative. He is a great supporter of the gambling industry. But to some extent, he is also a frustrated figure. He is not shy of voicing concerns or issues that many in the gambling industry would rather ignore.
Part of Whyte’s job is to raise funds for problem gambling research, education and treatment. It is a fight he has been waging for over 20 years and just when he felt like he had found an answer, the industry has fought back.
In January, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and US Rep. Andrea Salinas introduced the Gambling Addiction Recovery, Investment, and Treatment Act (GRIT), which proposes to take half of the funds generated by the federal excise tax on sports betting and apply it to problem gambling funding and research.
The American Gaming Association (AGA) has been staunch in its opposition to the act. Whyte beli..