According to Brian Kongsvik, help-line director for the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, only 5% of their callers are sports gamblers. Clearly, the vast majority of sports gamblers don’t end up pathologically addicted, but when it happens, it can be one of the most devastating forms of gambling. According to Brian Kongsvik, sports gamblers represent 56% of their callers with gambling debts over $90,000. That’s why it is critically important for sports gambling to be fully legalized. Yes, that may seem counterintuitive at first, but the vast majority of people are hesitant to ask for help when they’re involved with illegal and stigmatized activity. In addition, legalization will open the door for more harm reduction efforts. For example, the legal sports gambling industry could have the same regulations that Internet poker lobbyists have suggested for their industry, including blocking credit cards and forcing customers to pay with cash or debit cards.
Everyone betting with an illegal bookmaker is doing so with a credit line. To repeat, …show more content…
And slot machines are more profitable with a hold over 6%, but the hold is 15% with nickel or penny slots. Naturally, casinos strongly lobbied to legalize the more profitable form of gambling and the public relations battle has already been won. Case in point, there are nearly 850,000 slot machines in America, nearly twice the number of ATMs. Slot machines require employing very few people in comparison to operating a sportsbook. Therefore, slots, as opposed to sports gambling, offer less overall positive economic impact. But then again, that is not the goal of the casino lobby. They’re concerned with maximizing the profitability of every square foot of the casino. From the perspective of the casino, slot machines offer guaranteed profits at higher margins; whereas, the house can lose with sports gambling, albeit that’s a small
Everyone betting with an illegal bookmaker is doing so with a credit line. To repeat, …show more content…
And slot machines are more profitable with a hold over 6%, but the hold is 15% with nickel or penny slots. Naturally, casinos strongly lobbied to legalize the more profitable form of gambling and the public relations battle has already been won. Case in point, there are nearly 850,000 slot machines in America, nearly twice the number of ATMs. Slot machines require employing very few people in comparison to operating a sportsbook. Therefore, slots, as opposed to sports gambling, offer less overall positive economic impact. But then again, that is not the goal of the casino lobby. They’re concerned with maximizing the profitability of every square foot of the casino. From the perspective of the casino, slot machines offer guaranteed profits at higher margins; whereas, the house can lose with sports gambling, albeit that’s a small