by Hugh McQuaid
New legislation co-sponsored by U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal would dedicate ongoing federal funding to curb gambling addiction as a growing number of states including Connecticut have legalized sports and online betting.
The bill would provide a recurring revenue stream for programs to prevent, treat, and research problem gambling by redirecting 50% of the funds collected under an existing 0.25% excise tax on sports wagers.
Blumenthal, who introduced the proposal alongside U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Oregon, announced the bill during a Friday morning press conference at the Hartford offices of the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling.
“Make no mistake, gambling addiction can ruin lives,” Blumenthal said. “It causes families to disrupt, jobs to be lost, sometimes lives taken.”
Connecticut legalized sports betting and online gambling back in 2021, following a deal negotiated between the state, its two federally-recognized tribal nations and the Connecticut Lottery.
The state is not alone in expanding access to sports and online betting. Following a 2018 Supreme Court decision that struck down a law that had barred most from allowing sports betting, states around the country have moved quickly to legalize the practice.
As of Friday, Blumenthal said 38 states had allowed sports betting and 29 had legalized online betting. Meanwhile, almost 7 million Americans suffered from gambling addiction, he said.
“The possibilities for betting are virtually endless now and that creates the additional danger of gambling addiction,” he said.
The bill, called the Gambling addiction Recovery, Investment, and Treatment or GRIT Act, represents the first dedicated federal revenue stream to support programming designed to curb gambling addiction.
The excise tax that will fund the programs brought in $110.7 million in fiscal year 2021 — the last year in which complete numbers were available — but early indications suggest that it had surged in FY22, Blumenthal’s office said Friday.
Money collected through the excise tax currently has no dedicated purpose and goes into the general fund like most other taxes.
The bill would peel off half of that revenue, sending 75% to state gambling addiction and treatment programs through the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant program. The other 25% would be allocated for research by the National Institute of Drug Abuse.
During Friday’s press conference, Valerie Tebbetts, helpline coordinator for the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling, said she was grateful at the prospect of additional funding to help support others struggling with addiction.
Tebbetts said the money could help her organization serve a “tidal wave” of residents seeking help.
“With the advent of online gambling, we are overwhelmed. It is not enough,” she said. “The amount of gambling in casinos and on the lottery didn’t go down because online gambling happened, gambling just expanded.”