It’s hard to believe, now that croupiers in the state Legislature rake in more than $1.3 billion a year in casino gambling taxes, that nearly half of lawmakers opposed legalized gambling, on moral grounds, when the state approved it in 2004.
All of that gambling produces more than taxes. It generates addiction and its related social pathologies — crippling debt, broken families, suicides, crime to cover losses, diminished economic activity and more.
Pennsylvania’s government now receives more money from gambling than any other state, including Nevada. But it dedicates only a small portion of it to a half-hearted fight against gambling addiction — including the small words and soft voiceover on every gambling promoting commercial, “Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.”
According to a 2019 study of all 50 states by the financial analysis website, WalletHub, Pennsylvania has the 11th highest level of gambling “friendliness” and only the 43rd highest level of resources dedicated to fighting gambling addiction.
The state has followed its own lead. It aggressively promotes and expands gambling while telling people not to gamble too much, just as it aggressively sells massive amounts of alcohol while warning people to stay sober.
The gambling problem clearly has gotten worse during the year-long COVID-19 pandemic, even though casinos have been closed or limited. An explosion in legalized online sports and casino gambling has more than replaced the lost casino time.
Casinos themselves appeal to a new generation of potential gamblers that lives as much online as in the real world. It’s a ready market. Even before the rise of casinos, the pandemic and the online gambling expansion, sports betting addiction was a major problem on college campuses.
Regulators estimate that between 2% and 3% of Americans are addicted to gambling, but that estimate has been used for decades. It originated long before technology transformed casinos from physical destinations to apps in gamblers’ pockets.
March is Gambling Awareness Month. The designation largely because the NCAA basketball tournament known as March Madness generates more than $8 billion in legal gambling alone.
Given the evolution of gambling to make it readily available to anyone with a smartphone, which these days means just about everyone, the Legislature should dedicate far more resources against problem gambling.
— Republican & Herald, Pottsville
