With gambling rates increasing in tandem with rates of bankruptcy, Congress last year directed the Treasury Department to study a possible relationship. But Treasury says the relationship is "statistically weak."

• It found that on average, "frequent high-risk gambling raises the probability of bankruptcy by six percentage points from that of the base group, occasional gamblers."

• It added that frequent high-risk gambling "does appear to be associated with a greater likelihood of declaring bankruptcy, but the low prevalence of this type of gambling suggests that it has a relatively minor impact on the overall bankruptcy rate."

• Between 1993 and 1997, gross wagering jumped 53 percent, while personal bankruptcies grew at an average annual rate of 11 percent from 1985 through 1998.

• Bankruptcies hit a record 1.4 million last year.

Treasury attributed the rise in personal bankruptcies to a host of factors -- including increased debt levels relative to income, greater use of credit cards, and a lower social stigma attached to filing. An increase in divorces and higher medical costs were also cited.

Source: Staff Writer, "Study Finds Indistinct Link Between Gambling, Bankruptcy," Wall Street Journal, August 12, 1999.

For more on Gambling http://www.ncpa.org/pd/social/social3.html