How to tackle problem gambling in Colorado
Plus: Statewide fire department struggles, and more
New restrictions on sports betting in Colorado took effect this week, highlighting the importance of addressing addiction and problematic wagering.
State lawmakers passed new sports betting limits earlier this year amid continued growth in gambling in Colorado.
The new law says gambling companies can no longer accept credit cards or more than six deposits from a single gambler within 24 hours. The law also bans gambling companies from advertising to people under the age of 21.
Sports gambling has exploded in Colorado since voters legalized it starting in 2020. Last year, Coloradans bet a record $6.3 billion on sports, up from less than $4 billion in 2021, according to data from the state’s Division of Gaming analyzed by researcher Brad Jones in his newsletter, Colorado’s Political Landscape.
That’s an average of well over $17 million per day – and that figure doesn’t count prediction markets, cryptocurrency investments, stock trading and other financial activities that can resemble betting.
“Everything in our world is becoming gamble-fied,” said Jamie Glick, a licensed social worker and the executive director of the Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado, a nonprofit funded by the gambling industry.
As gambling has expanded, more Coloradans have been seeking help from Glick’s organization. But he says fewer than one in 10 people with a problem actually reach out.
“So if we’re seeing an increase, I think it’s only scratching the surface,” he said.
Many gamblers and people affected by problematic gambling think that quitting is simply a matter of willpower – a misperception that can be a barrier to reaching out for help.
“With an addiction, your brain becomes hijacked,” Glick said. “It’s not that easy to just stop.”
The Problem Gambling Coalition offers free services through its website and the 1-800-Gambler hotline, including financial counseling and education. But Glick says the organization’s most significant work involves connecting problem gamblers and their loved ones with support groups and communities that encourage their recovery.
A forthcoming study from the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver will examine the organization’s impact, Glick said.
But relying on the gambling industry to fund studies and responses to the issue can create perceptions of bias. Although Glick maintained that industry funding doesn’t affect his organization’s independence, he acknowledged that the current model could be improved.
“Unfortunately there’s not a lot of people standing in line to contribute to the cause of problem gambling,” Glick said. “I also think that there’s an obligation of the industry to contribute to intervention and prevention.”
Many critics of the gambling industry point out that a small fraction of highly active bettors account for most of the industry’s profits, giving companies little reason to try to curb those customers’ activity.
“You’re not going to find record profits year after year from recruiting a bunch of casual gamblers to make one bet and then never gamble again,” said Rob Minnick, a gambler recovering from addiction who runs a support organization. “This is just one type of industry where your most valuable customer is almost always the sickest person that you can find and take advantage of.”
Minnick said many gamblers aren’t aware of how gambling companies monitor and analyze data on individual bettors to target them with ads to encourage further wagering.
“People that are gambling have no idea that they’re using a dangerous and addictive product that’s tracking them and then being weaponized against them,” Minnick said.
While the new sports betting restrictions in Colorado may help mitigate some of the harms of problematic gambling, experts like Glick and Minnick say other measures should be considered – like further limits on advertising and push notifications, and encouraging doctors to screen for gambling addiction in standard medical check-ups.
“We just want to start normalizing these conversations,” Glick said.
NEED TO KNOW
🧑🚒 Colorado fire departments are overwhelmed and under-resourced, according to a new report from the state’s Division of Fire Prevention and Control. Departments across the state are facing rising costs for equipment and trained personnel, at the same time as firefighting demands are increasing due to wildfires and fires started by batteries for electric vehicles and other devices. Fire departments in Colorado are largely funded by property taxes, and some departments are planning to seek funding increases from the communities they serve. (Denver7 / Veronica Acosta, read the full report)
♻️ Colorado’s plan to expand free recycling statewide is facing a new, federal lawsuit backed by companies who would pay the fees to fund the program. The initiative is supposed to roll out later this year, but the lawsuit asks the judge to block it while the case proceeds. The recycling expansion was also challenged earlier this year in state court by a separate group of companies. In both suits, the companies argue the system doesn’t give them a fair say in how the fees are determined. (Colorado Sun / Michael Booth, read the court documents)
📵 State agencies should improve their management of employee cellphone programs, according to a recent audit. Information on employee cellphones is decentralized, making it hard to track costs and inventories at an agency-wide level. Unused cellphones might have cost the state $173,000 last year, though the auditors called that “a very rough estimate” and noted that some cellphones might go unused for good reasons – for example, if they are only for emergencies. (Colorado Politics / Marissa Ventrelli, read the full report)
🔎 A Colorado school board violated open meetings laws by hiding the true nature of a “public Christian school” and improperly appointing a person with ties to the school, a state judge ruled this week. The school, Riverstone Academy, closed earlier this year, but the court ruling could open the way for the state to claw back around $300,000 in public funding that it received. (Chalkbeat / Ann Schimke, July 31 newsletter)
🧊 Contrary to some reports, Glenwood Springs is not planning to sue the federal immigration agency ICE. The city is instead suing a private landlord that leases a property to ICE, which the agency has used to detain people. This video explains why the distinction between suing ICE and suing its landlord is important.
COMING UP
🗳️ I’m preparing a series of explainers related to the ballot initiatives that Coloradans will be asked to vote on this fall. (Here is a helpful list.) Send me your questions so I can make sure to find out what you need to know to help you decide. Ballots will be sent out starting in October, so don’t wait!