I bet you’ll never guess just how bad gambling is in Colorado.
In August 2024 alone, Coloradans put $372 million into sports betting. And the government wants more of it.
The state government spends very little on addiction resources compared to the vast sums it collects in “sin taxes” – on gambling, marijuana, and more. With Proposition JJ on the November ballot, it wants to keep even more gambling tax revenues.
Restricted — at least in principle — by TABOR, the Legislature has developed creative ways to increase state revenue, including lots of “fees” which are transparently taxes. They also do this by encouraging Coloradans to use marijuana and gamble their money away. This creates a massive conflict of interest — the government wants to encourage addiction to increase its revenues, but it must deal with the consequences for society.
But come on, how serious are the effects anyway? A little weed at home, betting on the Buffs and Broncos? That’s how the state government sees these addictive behaviors – no big deal.
Social science research is now proving a direct link between gambling addiction and a host of problems that deeply affect families and individuals. Writing recently in The Atlantic, Charles Fain Lehman of the Manhattan Institute outlined several research studies that explore those problems.
Sports gambling reduces savings. For every $1 spent on gambling, households put $2 less into their investments. More gamblers are maxing out their credit cards or over-drafting their bank account. For young men living in low-income counties who do online sports betting, there is a 25-30% increased risk of going bankrupt.
While 8% of American households place online bets, for an average of $1,100 a year, families with lower savings rates spend 32% more of their income on gambling than do higher income families. And this is largely by taking on additional debt, not reducing other expenses.
Where sports betting is legal, intimate-partner violence may increase by as much as 10%, particularly around events like an upset of a gambler’s favorite NFL team.
There are other dangers involved. According to Dr. Megan Cannedy, a professor of psychology at Colorado Christian University, “As a behavioral addiction, compulsive gambling can wreak havoc personally, professionally, and financially on the individual caught in the neuro-physiological reward system. Studies show the brain responses for a behavioral addiction such as gambling are similar to substance addictions.”
And this can deeply affect families.
“A gambling addiction equally can cause chaos, distress, and the breakdown of the family system as members attempt to cope with the unhealthy behavior and its effects. A behavioral addiction may impact the quality or even the survival of a marriage, and children and adolescents also demonstrate an increased vulnerability to repeat an addiction that becomes a component of their development.”
Colorado has been slow to address these deep problems with gambling addiction.
In 2022 the Legislature created the Responsible Gaming Grant Program, and this year it’s giving out about $2 million for addiction awareness, treatment, and research programs to two organizations, the Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado (PGCC) and the Kindbridge Research Center.
Much of that money seems earmarked for research, but there are currently about a dozen publicly listed gambling addiction counselors certified in Colorado and another two dozen are in the process of getting certified. That’s a good start.
But both organizations have direct ties to the gaming industry itself. The Executive Director of the Colorado Gaming Association is on the board of PGCC. The former Chief Operating Officer of the Monarch casino is on the board of Kindbridge.
It’s probably better that industry be involved with than an adversary to the gambling addiction program, but one may question whether the Colorado gaming industry really has the best interests of gamblers at heart. Gambling addiction and “problem gambling” make them look bad, so they emphasize “responsible gaming.” This is called “regulatory capture” – where the fox guards the chicken coop.
Colorado has enabled sports betting companies and casinos to earn hundreds of millions of dollars at the expense of those least capable of bearing that financial cost. The Legislature should budget and spend appropriately for future needs – within TABOR – rather than raising tens of millions in regressive gambling taxes.
Given Colorado’s tilt to the left, I wouldn’t bet on “responsible state fiscal policy.”
Tom Copeland, Ph.D., is the director of research at the Centennial Institute of Colorado Christian University. He writes regularly on public policy and the intersection of politics, culture, and religion. The views expressed by the author are his own and do not represent the views of Centennial Institute or Colorado Christian University.