Online sports betting is a fast lane to gambling addiction

There is an issue still alive in our state’s Legislature that could have a major impact on many lives in Iowa: legalized sports betting. My perspective on this is arguably as deep as any over the last 30 years. 

Our company, Consumer Credit of Des Moines, has done debt counseling for over 150,000 in that time period.  Somewhere between 4-10% of these are problem gamblers. In the 1990s CCDM administered the 1-800-BETS-OFF hotline for the state of Iowa.  When we gave up the contract in 2000, we were receiving 300-400 crisis calls a month. I have witnessed the human fallout from legalized casino gambling. 

I want to address two issues. First is the addictive nature of online gambling.  We know from the Des Moines Register Iowa Poll, a majority of Iowans oppose this. Many instinctively know it is addictive. Prince Harry made news recently over his grave concerns about young boys becoming addicted to the online video game Fortnite.  Many parents with boys are very aware of this game.

This type of online gaming, with fast and intentionally addictive action, is where Iowa's gambling expansion will eventually lead. It will not stop at betting on the Cubs and the Chiefs. It is early but Massachusetts reports 5.7% of casino sports betters were problem gamblers. When it was offered online, that number skyrocketed to 18.2%. Disastrous numbers are coming out of the United Kingdom and Ireland. A new study out of the U.K. found that three-quarters of online gamblers had borrowed money or sold property to gamble.  Is this the climate we desire in Iowa?

My second point is what the casinos claim is bringing sports betting "out of the shadows." I understand the casinos make nearly all their profits from the slot machines.  The bread and butter here is older Iowans sitting on a stool for long hours, many smoking, because the casino allows it to keep them in front of the slot machine. The younger generation has little interest in this activity.  The answer is online gambling.

The Register poll found only 4% of Iowans regularly partake in sports gambling.  In the U.K., 20% of all TV sporting events encompass ads for betting. This ramped-up advertising guarantees much increased interest. The early indications are those betting illegally now will not come into the light. The regulation and taxes will not offer nearly as good a deal as the bookies are offering now. What it will do is drive a new interest that will push many into the shadows. The revenue projections of the early entrant states have fallen way short of expectations. 

More:Casinos win legislative support for running Iowa sports betting market

I urge Iowans to join me in calling on our legislators to defeat online sports betting. I know an army of well-paid lobbyists are pushing hard with their own clear motivation to pass this bill. It’s our legislators’ responsibility, first and foremost, to protect Iowans. That means turning away from this fast lane to addiction.

Tom Coates is executive director of Consumer Credit of Des Moines.