Throughout the recently ended General Assembly session, gambling has been front and center. That hasn’t always been the case. In just the past few years there has been an unprecedented expansion of gambling in the commonwealth. This year, lawmakers looked at proposals for additional casinos and legalizing devices known by some as skill games. Virginia now has three operating casinos, two of which are set to expand from temporary facilities to permanent structures this year. Sports betting has become wildly popular since beginning in Virginia in January 2021. All of that is in addition to horse racing, historical horse racing at Rosie’s, charitable gaming, and of course, the Virginia Lottery.
While these forms of gambling can bring excitement for participants and revenue to the state and localities, gambling can have a significant downside that should never be glossed over: gambling addiction.
According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, an estimated 2-4% of Americans have some sort of a gambling problem. Gambling addiction can be devastating, damaging families and leading to financial ruin. It is often referred to as the “hidden addiction,” because you can’t tell just by looking at someone if they are a gambling addict.
As gambling has increased in Virginia, so too have the resources available to help people with gambling addiction. When the General Assembly legalized casino and sports betting in the 2020 session, lawmakers established the Problem Gambling Treatment and Support Fund, which is used to develop and implement compulsive and problem gambling treatment and prevention programs. Every month, a portion of the taxes paid by casinos and sports betting operators in Virginia goes to the fund, which is administered by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.
Prior to the creation of that fund, there was no state mechanism for dealing with gambling addiction. In fact, for years, there was only one state entity that talked about problem gambling at all. And this may surprise you: It was the lottery.
The Virginia Lottery was one of the first in the nation to create a Play Responsibly program, even though there were few requirements placed by the state on the lottery in this area. Part of that program included proactively creating the Virginia Problem Gambling Helpline (888-532-3500), and later partnering with the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling to maintain it.
Today, the Virginia Lottery’s Play Responsibly program is nationally recognized in the industry, regularly winning awards for its responsible gaming initiatives. The lottery produces public service announcements, uses its popular social media channels, distributes brochures, and more — all with one goal: to raise awareness of problem gambling and the resources to help in Virginia.
In addition, the lottery has a Gift Responsibly campaign, as part of the Play Responsibly program, reminding people not to give lottery tickets as gifts to minors. This is important because research has shown that the younger a person begins to gamble, the greater the likelihood of that person developing a gambling problem later in life.
The casino operators and sports betting platforms licensed to do business in Virginia are required to have programs in place to guard against underage play and to have gambling awareness programs in place. One such program is administered by the lottery: Virginia’s Voluntary Exclusion Program that allows people to opt out of most types of state-regulated gambling. This can be for a period of two years, five years or for life. Additionally, there are options specific to the lottery’s online games, offering players the chance to remove themselves from play for one, three or six months.
As lawmakers continue to monitor and weigh possible expansions of gambling in Virginia, I encourage them to remember, as we do at the lottery, that gambling is an activity that for most people is simple recreation, but for some can be dangerous and addictive.
Tony Russell is interim director of the Virginia Lottery.