Here's what's going on in the world of regulation for the United States Gambling and Gaming industry this week.
Us Gambling Regulation In Missouri
Residents of Missouri will be voting on November 5, 2024, for more than the presidential race; they will be voting on Ballot Amendment 2.
Ballot Amendment 2 would amend the Missouri Constitution to:
• allow the Missouri Gaming Commission to regulate licensed sports wagering including online sports betting, gambling boats, professional sports betting districts and mobile licenses to sports betting operators;
• restrict sports betting to individuals physically located in the state and over the age of 21;
• allow license fees prescribed by the Commission and a 10% wagering tax on revenues received to be appropriated for education after expenses incurred by the Commission and required funding of the Compulsive Gambling Prevention Fund; and
• allow for the general assembly to enact laws consistent with this amendment.
Amendment 2 would establish a ban on advertisements of sports wagering to minors, require background checks for people or companies applying for a sports betting license (people convicted of felonies or gambling offenses cannot run the operations), and requires the promotion of problem gambling on websites and mobile apps.
Missourians have voiced their concerns on this amendment through a campaign called “No on 2 – The Deceptive Online Gambling Amendment,” citing concerns for the amendment bringing any benefit to their state. The campaign states that the amendment only benefits large out-of-state gambling corporations, and that the amendment is written with various loopholes that do not guarantee any of the state revenue will be flushed back into the state’s education systems.
The Kansas City Star states, “The constitutional amendment includes a requirement that state lawmakers allocate revenue generated from a 10% tax on sports betting to schools, but it does not mention a fund specifically tied to education. That lack of specificity implies that the tax revenue generated from sports betting could go to the state’s general revenue fund, which lawmakers could use for other government services, according to the Missouri School Boards’ Association, which has not taken an official stance on the measure.”
Similarly to other state legalization of online sports wagering, this amendment is written to hurt residents of Missouri and doesn’t promise any gain for anyone but wealthy politicians and corporations.
Us Gambling Regulation In Massachusetts
On October 7th, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health granted $3.1 million for organizations that support youth problem gambling intervention, and to expand the workforce that supports this work.
$2.1 million of the grant is going to the Youth Leaders in Problem Gambling Prevention initiative, which is a peer-to-peer program that focuses on problem gambling prevention engagement for Massachusettsan’s aged 12-21.
$1 million of the grant will provide funding for Project Build Up 2.0, an initiative to provide workforce development opportunities to strengthen the workforce for outpatient substance use and gambling treatment programs.
The Massachusetts Public Health Commissioner Robbie Goldstein, MD, PhD, stated, “Our focus remains on supporting and promoting prevention, referral, and treatment options to help those with a gambling problem, which is particularly important as access to gambling expands. These two initiatives will augment our efforts to prevent problem gambling among youth and help fortify our workforce capacity in the outpatient substance use and gambling treatment space.”
The 2021 Massachusetts Youth Health Survey discovered that 42.4% of high school and 43.47% of middle school students gambled in the year before the survey was conducted.
The Massachusetts Department of Public Health Office of Problem Gambling Services is responsible for managing and reducing the effects of problem gambling in the state, with a specific focus on youth intervention.
The director of the Office of Problem Gambling Services, Victor Ortiz said, “Reaching young people before they start down a path to gambling is critically important. Supporting workforce development for problem gambling treatment providers will build the capacity of our outpatient treatment programs to address problem gambling and co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders.”
With a focus on community engagement and youth intervention, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health believes it can combat problem gambling in the state.
Wrapping Up
If you're in either of these states, or any state, check out this page for resources if you or someone you know is struggling with a gambling addiction!
Let's keep getting better together one day at a time!
Additional Resources For Recovery:
Birches Health - Online Tele-Therapy
Gamban - Block Gambling Apps And Websites On Your Device
Evive - Better understand your own gambling behavior to help achieve your specific goal
Gamfin - Gambling-related financial problems? GamFin can help. They provide financial counseling for individuals and families in financial distress.
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