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At a recent East Coast Gambling conference, panelists say
Illinois could soon adopt internet gambling behind Michigan, New
Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Delaware and Connecticut.
Indiana, Iowa and New York are also considering adopting online
gambling. Sports betting is currently legal in a total of 30
states and the District of Columbia.
Rev. Shane Hartman said there are so many negatives that
outweigh the positives.
"There's all these cross addictions with gambling and alcohol,"
Hartman told The Center Square. "And all these things that go
together, the suicide rates go through the roof with this online
gambling."
According to Hartman, the odds of developing a gambling
addiction increase 23-fold for individuals who are already
dealing with alcohol dependency.
"Twenty-three times," Hartman said. "It's just scary. They're
already struggling with another addiction and then they're just
going to put this on top of it."
Hartman said that 3.8% of adult Illinoisans, or about 383,000
people, are considered to already have a gambling problem and if
the state adopts online gambling, he thinks that number will
explode.
"It's crazy," Hartman said. "I mean, it's going to be a spiral.
There is a loophole now that you can gamble online, but those
companies are based overseas and it's unregulated."
The ILCAAP is a non-profit organization in Illinois that strives
to prevent issues that arise from problems with alcohol, other
drugs and gambling.
The organization was established in 1898 with a mission to “open
doors to freedom from addictive behavior for individuals and
families in Illinois through public information, education and
legislation.”
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