legalized sports betting will increase gambling addiction

It's ridiculous,” said Bernal, executive director of Stop Predatory Gambling. The state is committing to spend two percent of that to fund treatment and prevention.Īnti-gambling activist Les Bernal says that is not nearly enough, given what he has seen in other states after they launched sports betting. Ohio is getting 10 percent of online and live sports gambling revenue after winnings are paid in taxes. The University of Cincinnati is one of six organizations statewide to get a grant to train social workers to better understand and help interact with and treat problem gamblers in the coming year. “And because of that large participation, a certain percentage of those individuals will experience problems with their gambling.' 'Ohio being a large state within the United States, we're anticipating a dramatic increase in individuals participating,” Stewart said.

He says it is hard to predict how much those numbers will go up with legalized sports betting, especially since gamblers can place wagers on their smartphones. 16 percent of those addicts are under the age of 18. University of Cincinnati social work visiting associate professor Gregory Stewart says there are an estimated 250,000 people in the state, currently, with a gambling problem. Mental health experts are worried about a possible massive leap in the number of problem gamblers statewide.

Legalized sports betting will increase gambling addiction