The Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling recognizes March as National Problem Gambling Awareness Month. This month serves as an opportunity to emphasize the destructive effects of gambling on families and communities.
Problem Gambling
The Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling estimates that over 333,000 Wisconsin residents have a gambling problem.[1] This number is conservative but still represents almost 6% of Wisconsin’s total population and over 7% of our population over the age of 18.
The National Council on Problem Gambling defines problem gambling as “gambling behavior that is damaging to a person or their family, often disrupting their daily life and career.”[2] Problem gambling is more than just poor money management. It’s an addiction.
Problem gambling can begin like any other bad habit or addiction. And that’s why it’s so risky. What began as competing for a small cash prize in a friend-group fantasy football league can turn into a raging addiction with the accompanying baggage of financial ruin, relationship breakdown, and mental illness. So much for a little harmless fun.
Effects of Problem Gambling
While the gambling industry has worked to portray gambling as a family-friendly form of harmless entertainment, the effects of gambling tell a different story.
The effects of gambling reach far beyond the obvious financial strain. As gamblers experience lows in the casino, their mental health often deteriorates. The Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling reports that suicide rates are 20 times higher among pathological gamblers (gamblers who experience an uncontrollable urge to keep gambling despite the effects) than among non-gamblers.[3] In the never-ending fervor to secure more cash, gamblers often incur massive credit card debt and dry up retirement savings. When funds run out, many turn to illegal methods of gaining cash such as stealing, prostitution, embezzlement, insurance fraud, and the use of loan sharks.[4] The Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling reports that 65 percent of compulsive gamblers commit crimes to finance their gambling.[5]
But the effects of gambling reach beyond the gambler. One study interviewed family members of problem gamblers. The respondents reported numerous harms of problem gambling on family members of gamblers including financial distress; loss of sleep due to stress or worry; increased depression; stress related health problems; relationship conflict; reduced performance at work or study due to tiredness or distraction; and feelings of distress, anger, hopelessness, shame, insecurity, and worthlessness.[6]
With the advent of the internet, gambling has become more accessible than ever. Without even stepping foot outside your bedroom, you can dry up your life savings. Online sports betting and other forms of online gambling are especially dangerous for children. The Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling reports that 6 to 20 percent of adolescents develop gambling problems.[7]
Protecting Families and Communities
Considering the substantial negative side effects of gambling on individuals, families, and communities, the government ought to protect individuals from gambling. But just like the casino owners and the bookies, the government is in it for the money. Every year, the Wisconsin government makes over $2 billion from the sale of lottery tickets and tribal casino revenues but spends less than a dime on problem gambling services per resident fighting gambling addiction.[8]
Proponents argue that gambling revenues create millions of dollars in tax relief but fail to recognize the societal costs problem gambling accrues. According to former senior economic adviser to President Ronald Reagan, Earl L. Grinols, gambling costs the US economy as much as $54 billion annually. Furthermore, he notes that casino gambling causes up to $289 in societal costs for every $46 of economic benefit. He writes, “The costs of problem and pathological gambling are comparable to the value of the lost output of an additional recession in the economy every four years.”[9]
Societal impacts also include rising crime and divorce rates. A Wisconsin study discovered that communities experience a 30 percent rise in violent crime and a 50 percent increase in arrests after the opening of a casino.[10] Another study demonstrates that the divorce rates among pathological gamblers and problem gamblers are significantly higher (53.5 percent and 39.5 percent, respectively) than that among low-risk gamblers and non-gamblers.[11]
The destructive impacts of gambling make it a far too risky game for families and communities to play. Gambling pits the state against families and communities—and in the end, everybody loses.
Parents must educate their children on the risks of gambling, teach them to manage money wisely, and engage their family in wholesome activities that are truly family friendly.
[1] https://wi-problemgamblers.org/wp-content/upload/2023/05/PA-Annual-REPORT-2022.pdf
[2] https://www.ncpgambling.org/help-treatment/faqs-what-is-problem-gambling/
[3] https://wi-problemgamblers.org/wp-content/upload/2023/05/PA-Annual-REPORT-2022.pdf
[4] https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3004711/
[5] https://wi-problemgamblers.org/wp-content/upload/2023/05/PA-Annual-REPORT-2022.pdf
[6] https://www.gambleaware.org/media/4kzevoyu/families-living-with-problem-gambling.pdf
[7] https://wi-problemgamblers.org/wp-content/upload/2023/05/PA-Annual-REPORT-2022.pdf
[10] https://www.citizensagainstgambling.com/facts/
[11] https://www.citizensagainstgambling.com/history-gambling-wisconsin/
