Technology has raised the stakes for those with compulsive habits. Research indicates that younger, higher educated men are among the most likely to bet on sports. The surge appears driven by a spike in sports betting marketing, though some callers had problems with other types of gambling or weren’t actually seeking help, said Derek Longmeier, executive director of the Problem Gambling Network of Ohio. Through the first seven months, calls to Ohio’s helpline were up about 150% compared to the same period a year ago. 1, requires 2% of the tax revenues to go to a “problem sports gaming fund.” The state law also requires all sports betting ads to include a phone number for a problem gambling helpline.
Ohio, which launched sports betting on Jan. Since then, seven additional states have either launched sports betting or passed laws to do so, and all of those have required part of their sports betting revenues to go to problem gambling services, said Rachel Volberg, a research professor in the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology at the University of Massachusetts-Amhurst. Stone, executive director of the nonprofit Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling.Īs of a year ago, 15 states and the District of Columbia had laws earmarking a portion of their sports betting revenues toward problem gambling services, but another 15 states did not. That’s a decent start, but “we’ve only got five certified gambling counselors in the state right now, and we’re going to need probably five times that many to provide adequate geographic and demographic coverage,” said Michael R. Kentucky’s new fund is projected to receive about $575,000 in its first year. “But they were really reluctant to without some form of problem gambling money.” “We had folks that wanted to vote for sports wagering,” Meredith said. Meredith told The Associated Press he would have preferred to first launch sports wagering, then come back in subsequent years with legislation earmarking problem-gambling funding from all types of betting, including horse racing.īut Meredith couldn’t rally enough support to pass the bill this year until a provision was added dedicating 2.5% of sports wagering taxes and licensing fees to a new problem gambling account, which also can be tapped for alcohol and drug addictions. Michael Meredith did not originally include any funding for problem gambling in his legislation that legalized sports betting.
There was no guarantee they would finally succeed when sports betting was proposed. Advocates in Kentucky, which has a rich horse racing history, had tried for decades to persuade lawmakers to fund services for people with gambling problems.
0 kommentar(er)
