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Online casinos, sportsbooks intensify online gambling problem
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Participants engage in sports betting at Motor City Casino in Detroit
Since Michigan legalized online casinos and sports betting in December 2019, problem gambling has spiked. Most early research done on problem gambling linked addiction to proximity; the closer a person was to a casino, the more likely to become a problem gambler. When new casinos opened, issues with problem gambling doubled within a 50 mile radius. Now, casinos are as close as an internet connection.
The legalization of online play occurred just months before the initial COVID lockdowns. With other forms of entertainment closed, some turned to digital entertainment, which now included gambling.
“We have seen a rise in problematic play,” said Caitlyn Huble, communications director for the National Council on Problem Gambling.