Reformed gamblers fear state could see surge in problem gamblers if mobile sports betting legalized – SILive.com

CITY HALL -- Gambling consumed the life of reformed gambler Gerald to the point where he had multiple loan sharks chasing after him and would borrow money from one loan shark only to pay the other.

He started buying baseball cards as a kid in the hopes of getting the most valuable cards to sell, and from there, he moved on to betting on football sheets in high school.

Ive had weeks where I won $20,000 to $30,000 and I would lose every dollar of it the next week, said Gerald, whose name the Advance changed at his request to protect his identity. Even the wins, they were short-lived. It gets to a point where you gamble so much the only reason you want to win is just so you can have more money to keep gambling.

With the state legislators back in Albany for the 2020 legislative session, some think legalizing mobile sports betting is key to filling the $6 billion budget shortfall facing the state.

But problem gamblers like Gerald fear legalizing mobile sports betting could get kids addicted to gambling at an early age.

Is it a good idea for them [to legalize mobile sports betting] to make money? Yes, it is, Gerald said. Is it morally right? Thats the question.

LAWMAKERS LOOK TO LEGALIZING MOBILE SPORTS BETTING TO FILL $6B STATE BUDGET DEFICIT

Mobile sports betting may not have made it through the state Legislature last year, but with New York facing a $6 billion budget shortfall, state lawmakers behind the push to legalize online sports betting think 2020 could be the year its legalized.

Last year, a bill that would have legalized mobile sports betting passed in the Senate but was not taken up for a vote in the Assembly.

That legislation last week advanced in the Senates Finance Committee, said Queens Democrat State Sen. Joseph Addabbo Jr., the bills sponsor.

Addabbo recently spoke to Gov. Andrew Cuomos legal counsel about the bill and said they did not say legalizing mobile sports betting would be a nonstarter this year.

Addabbo said he is hopeful the governor will include legalizing mobile sports betting in his executive budget later this month.

Apprehensions for gaming aside, there is a need this year thats unique that we didnt have last year, and thats the need to address the budget deficit and the revenue, Addabbo said.

If Jerseys making on average $30 million a month, just in terms of mobile sports betting, I think because we are New York, we can do it much better than New Jersey, he continued, adding that many New Yorkers are already making the trip to New Jersey to place online bets.

CUOMOS STANCE UNCLEAR

For now, its unclear where the governor stands, his office did not respond to requests for comment about his position on mobile sports betting, but the governor has previously had constitutional concerns about legalizing mobile sports betting.

The bills sponsor in the Assembly, Democrat Gary Pretlow, thinks Cuomo will be the biggest obstacle in moving the measure forward.

Hes not interested in doing right now, Pretlow said. I want the Legislature to put it on the table, if we put it on the table and recognize that theres going to be close to a billion dollars in revenue, that will take care of some of the cuts that were going to have to have if theres going to be a $6 billion deficit.

MORE GAMBLERS SEEKING HELP

Right now, sports betting is only legal in-person at four casinos upstate.

According to an internal report obtained by the paper, the number of sports-betting calls the states addiction helpline received before sports betting was legalized in 2018 was about 1 to 5 percent, but a year later, that figure jumped to nearly 11 percent.

Late last year, Richmond University Medical Center expanded to a new headquarters in Bloomfield with the hopes of treating the estimated 5,000 problem gamblers around the Island.

The Executive Director of New Jerseys Council on Compulsive Gambling, Neva Pryor, warned that placing bets on online apps was like having a casino in your back pocket.

Steve Block, a retired gambling counselor of 30 years from Eltingville, thinks the state is taking the precautions needed to help problem gamblers if the mobile sports betting is to be legalized.

But he thinks other measures are needed too.

Block said courts should consider diverting convicted problem gamblers to a gamblers court where convicted problem gamblers can enter into gambling addiction treatment rather than face jail time, are needed too if the state moves to legalize mobile sports betting.

Gambling could be shown the same consideration, its just a question of the district attorneys office to get on board to include gambling as an alternative sentencing, Block said.

Right now, the bill thats being considered in the Senate includes provisions to establish a gamblers treatment hotline as well as put together an annual report on problem gamblers under the age of 30.

A SOURCE OF REVENUE

Since sports betting was legalized in New Jersey in 2018, the state has generated more than $3 billion in gaming revenue to date, according to the states latest figures.

In 2019, the Garden State raked in a combined $782 million from revenue from sports wagering and internet gaming alone.

And in a years time, more money was spent on sportsbooks in New Jersey than in Nevada, according to ESPN.

In New Jersey, the states gambling hotline saw a surge in gamblers calling to report a sports-betting problem, The New York Post reported.

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Reformed gamblers fear state could see surge in problem gamblers if mobile sports betting legalized - SILive.com