Until five years ago, Rebecca had never gambled and had no interest in it.

In June 2004, after a series of personal crises that included the loss of a job and a grandparent, she began to go to the Cherokee Casino to play gaming machines on her lunch hour.

"It seemed harmless enough," she said, "a time to unwind and escape."

Within a month, she found herself gambling away money that she needed for rent.

"It really got ahold of me hard and fast," she said. "I call it a roller coaster to hell."

Over a 10-day period in August of that year, she wrote 10 checks for amounts from $100 to $2,500.

"I went off the deep end," she said. "It was completely irrational. I told myself, 'I'll win the money to cover the checks.' "

But she didn't, and she found herself borrowing money, pawning her goods and in court paying fines for writing bad checks.

Rebecca eventually went to Gamblers Anonymous and got her life back on track.

Other problem gamblers have not. Some are in prison for embezzlement, some have committed suicide and others have lost everything.

A form of Las Vegas-style (Class III) Indian gaming was legalized in Oklahoma five years ago. Before that, tribes offered Class II gaming. The state now has more than 100 casinos. Three of the largest are in the Tulsa area. Only California has higher Indian gaming revenues than Oklahoma.

And as the number of casinos has increased, so has the number of problem gamblers.

Help for addicts Before the casinos opened, the Tulsa area had one Gamblers Anonymous chapter. Now it has eight, including a Hispanic chapter, said Linda, who overcame a gambling addiction through the program and now handles its local telephone hot line.

"They're springing up all over the place," she said. "The calls just keep increasing."

The state gambling helpline received 912 calls about problem gambling in the fiscal year that ended June 30, up from 677 in 2008, according to the Web site for the Oklahoma Association on Problem and Compulsive Gambling, a "gaming neutral," nonprofit Oklahoma corporation that works to increase public awareness and treatment of problem gambling. By a wide margin, Tulsa County led all other counties in helpline calls.

The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services receives $250,000 a year from the Tribal Gaming Compact and $500,000 a year from unclaimed lottery funds to administer outpatient treatment services for problem gamblers.

The state has certified 13 programs to help gamblers and their families, including two in Tulsa -- Family & Children's Services and the Center for Therapeutic Intervention.

Wiley Harwell, executive director of the Oklahoma Association for Problem and Compulsive Gambling, said 2009 was the first year all the money allotted for treatment was spent.

More help needed "Now we've got quite a few on the waiting list," he said. "Our problem is how to treat more people with the same amount of money."

Carol McCoy, a certified gambling counselor at Family & Children's Services, said that beginning about a year ago, her work with gambling addicts crowded out all other clients. She sees 25 to 30 people a week.

"The need is increasing; we have a waiting list," she said. "It's a behavioral problem, but it's treated as an addiction, because that's what works best."

Most of her patients get better, she said, because "unless they're court-ordered, they're ready to get help. The best candidates are voluntary."

Jeff Dismukes, communications director for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, said the state is seeing an increase in demand for problem gambling services, which he attributed to more people being aware of the services.

"All of our funds are currently obligated," he said.

Dismukes said, however, that he was unaware of anyone seeking help being put on a waiting list.

Harwell said studies show 1 percent to 3 percent of people are pathological gamblers, which translates to 35,000 to 105,000 in the state.

"Proximity and availability are everything," he said.

"For those who live within 50 miles of a casino, it's on the high side of the 1 to 3 percent."

Tribe takes steps "A lot of treatment is going on in tribal facilities," Harwell said.

Among the 84 nationally certified gambling counselors in Oklahoma, 34 are in tribal mental health departments, he said.

Mike Miller, communications officer for the Cherokee Nation, said the tribe has taken steps to help problem gamblers besides having counselors who work in Cherokee health-care facilities.

The Play Smart program offers materials and counseling to people who need it in the casinos.

Employees are trained to spot problem behavior.

Under the "self-exclusion" program, problem gamblers can put themselves in a database at the casino and will be removed from the property if they try to gamble.

"We understand that gaming is a form of entertainment that a lot of people like," Miller said.

"We want people to come to our property and have fun. If they're not having fun, we want them to go someplace else where they will have fun."

He said Indian gaming provides good jobs, and unlike movies and other forms of entertainment, the money stays in Oklahoma.

J.D. Colbert, a Muscogee (Creek) Nation Indian who has been involved in the gaming issue, said gaming tribes are aware and concerned about the issue of problem gambling.

"All gaming tribes want to be good citizens and responsible members of the state," said Colbert, a Norman investment adviser and former banker.

He pointed out that unlike cities, counties and states, tribes have no tax base to fund their operations and are forced to create their own income streams through commercial activities.

Gambling is an addiction many people cannot understand, Harwell said, because it does not involve substance abuse.

"Slot machines produce a trancelike state. People lose track of time and space. Logic and reason shut down. The back of the brain lights up They're literally not cognizant that they are spending more than they should."

In Oklahoma, slot machines are by far the most addictive form of gambling, accounting for 80 percent of the calls for help, he said.

Gambling addicts have higher than average incidences of depression, suicide, domestic violence and child endangerment, he said.

Most casinos have security guards that check parking lots hourly for children left in cars while their parents gamble.

Some problem gamblers write bad checks or commit other crimes to pay gambling debts.

Several embezzlement cases in Oklahoma have been linked to gambling.

The Rev. Tom Grey, field director for Stop Predatory Gambling, a national organization, was invited to Oklahoma two weeks ago to address a group of United Methodist pastors.

Grey said the social costs of gambling greatly outweigh its tax benefits to governments.

He said studies show that counties with casinos have a 13.4 percent higher bankruptcy rate and an 8 percent higher crime rate than counties without casinos.

Oklahoma gambling facts Fiscal year 2009 calls for help to Oklahoma Problem Gamblers Helpline: 912

Women callers: 492, or 54 percent

Most problematic form of gambling: slot machines -- 65 percent

Average number of hours spent gambling per week: 10.3

Number of casinos in Oklahoma (2008): 110

Number of state tribes operating gaming facilities (2008): 32

Number of gaming machines in state (2008): 53,897

Total state indian gaming revenues (2008): $2.9 billion

By Bill Sherman