Some state officials and lawmakers are arguing that legalizing online sports betting would boost the Texas economy. But addiction experts are warning the decision could come at a serious cost to public health. Via TexasStandard.
Ads for sports-betting apps such as Caesar’s Sportsbook aired on Texas televisions during the Super Bowl – even though sports betting is not yet legal in Texas.
“I experienced going broke in the securities market and ended up in bankruptcy court. My house in foreclosure, ended up in divorce court, ended up in the suicide ward of Austin State Hospital,” Anderson said. “A lot of times we lump gambling, sex, cocaine all together, because all of those target what’s called a dopamine neurotransmitter in the brain, which is the brain’s pleasure center, and that dopamine gets elevated,” Anderson said. “In other words, the gambler is high in anticipation of the outcome.”
Also, military service members and veterans have “twice the rate of gambling problems” compared to the general public, Whyte says. Research suggests the risk for gambling problems is also higher in minority groups. “They might never even see their payout. And I’ve even heard of stories of betting platforms that pop up, and by the time you go to collect your winnings, they’ve disappeared completely and you’re out,” said Cara Gustafson of the Texas-based Sports Betting Alliance.
“And those are primarily criminal justice and health care costs, so they fall primarily on state government,” Whyte said.
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