With new and upcoming casinos emerging in the state of Maryland and launch of many online casinos, gambling problem is expected to increase, say experts.

Hence, University of Maryland School of Medicine plans to establish a problem gambling center for people with gambling addictions. The centre is aimed at training health professionals, operate a telephone hotline and launch a public awareness campaign.

The centre is being touted as the first of its kind in the state to be established with a three-year, $5 million grant from the state health department, which will teach social workers, psychiatrists, psychologists and others to identify and treat problem gambling, reports Baltimore Sun.

The center will be the place to which people can turn to if they or someone they know is found to be addicted to gambling.

A two-day training session for mental health professionals has been arranged next week by the centre on Eastern shore and aims to conduct another session in the Baltimore area by the end of November. The center also will assist the Maryland Council on Problem Gambling with operating a round the clock help line staffed by trained counselors.

As Baltimore Sun points out, the state's previous measures in combating the gambling addiction has been criticized and deemed as ineffective. The funding was insufficient as the problem was not as serious until the legalization of slot machines. Now, that they are, the financial needs are met as the casino owners are required to pay a pre-determined sum to the Problem Gambling Fund.

The state has three casinos and two others are planned to open in Baltimore city and Allegany Center. The fate of a sixth casino to be opened in Prince George's county lies with the voters who are likely to approve it in the November ballot.

It is the referendum item, Question 7, which will allow table games at all Maryland casinos, if passed.

"If [Question 7] passes we'll see a shift and a change in gamblers in Maryland," said Joanna Franklin, the center's deputy director, to Baltimore Business Journal. "A small number of them will get hooked and they'll need a different type of clinical intervention."

The changes in the gambling scenario of the state may call for additional hands. The center hopes that it is equipped enough to face the challenges that these new changes are about to bring.