# Protecting Iowans from the Harms of Gambling --- Author: Greg Baker Index: [[CAN White Papers]] Word Doc: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mzbr9eb9ey781epa2psf5/Protecting-Iowans-From-the-Harms-of-Gambling.docx?dl=0&rlkey=zb7wv2zfbh041t2kqbzx0z2o1 --- _“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound.”_ (Isaiah 61:1) In the Church Ambassador Network, a ministry of The FAMiLY LEADER Foundation, we work to help free people from bondage. Bondage is when people find themselves captured, unable to escape. There are many behaviors in our culture that begin as a choice, but become addictions that lead to bondage. Gambling is one of those behaviors that leads many into bondage. For this reason, the Church Ambassador Network is opposed to gambling in all its forms and the expansion thereof, as is The FAMiLY LEADER Foundation. **1.** **Gambling is highly addictive and online gambling brings gambling to a significantly larger demographic.** Online gambling significantly increases concerns of problem gambling. Addictive gamblers will no longer have to drive to brick-and-mortar locations to feed their gambling habit. It will now be available simply at their fingertips and will significantly expose more Iowans to gambling, risking an increase in the number of addicted gamblers. We have not yet seen the full ramifications of this, as until recently Iowans had to drive to a casino to activate gaming accounts. - 7 out of 10 Iowans have gambled, and 13% of Iowans are at-risk gamblers. [\[1\]](#_ftn1) - 21% of Iowans who play fantasy sports are at-risk gamblers [\[2\]](#_ftn2) - In the UK, online gambling operators make more than half of their profits from at-risk and problem gamblers.[\[3\]](#_ftn3) - In Ireland, 3 out of 4 online gamblers borrow money or sell something to make a bet on sports betting.[\[4\]](#_ftn4) - Australia has seen a 70% increase in problem gamblers, particularly among young males, since the legalization of sports betting.[\[5\]](#_ftn5) - John W. Kindt, professor emeritus of business administration at University of Illinois, states: - “Betting on sports in a casino is addictive enough, but when you put it in the hands of someone who is a sports fan and has a smartphone, now you’re really opening Pandora’s box,” he said. “If you combine gambling, sports and smartphones, you’re leading sports fans down a very dangerous path to financial ruin.” - “Virtually every piece of academic research says this is a bad idea, for any number of reasons. But the big ones are the effect on the economy and the creation of more addicted gamblers at a younger age.” - University of Tasmania in Australia gathered the following testimonies during their study on the impacts of sports betting in Australia: - “If we're not careful, we run the risk because it's so in your face and it's, you know omnipresent, we run the risk of having - um, breeding a huge generation of problem gamblers. I don't have any doubt about that.” Member of community-based sporting club. - "If you're hitting that chronic point where they would have come in to see us, it's affecting their whole world, so impacting on family or even if it hasn't got to that point, that they're so wracked with shame and guilt. It becomes an obsession 24/7 so it impacts on their quality of time, their life quality, their interactions with others." Financial counselor. **2.** **Government is our protector.** _“For government is God’s servant for your good.” (Romans 13:4)_ In the Church Ambassador Network, we hold to the teachings of Scripture that government is an institution of God’s, and He created it with a purpose. Government’s purpose is justice, to punish evil and commend those who do good. The Scripture continues to state that those who serve in government are God’s servants for our good. Government is a gracious gift from God. When sin entered this world, God could have left us to our own vices, but He didn’t. He created government. Government, though not perfect, protects us from ourselves. Government is to make it easier to pursue what brings life and harder to pursue what causes death. In the realm of gambling, the people need government to protect them from the harms caused by gambling to individuals, families, and community. **3.** **We must protect and defend Iowa’s youth.** The greatest concern with bringing gambling to the internet is introducing gambling to a whole new generation of Iowans. The internet not only puts gambling at your fingertips, it attracts a whole new group of Iowans at a much younger age. We do not completely know the long-term ramifications of making gambling so accessible to these young minds. - In 2019 17% of esport gamblers were aged 18-24[\[6\]](#_ftn6) - Problem gamblers ages 11-16 has quadrupled to more than 50,000 in the UK and this comes at a time when UK children 93% of these children play video games averaging 3 hours a day.[\[7\]](#_ftn7) - In the UK they are finding that people following esport gambling accounts were very young. 85% of them were under 24.[\[8\]](#_ftn8) - University of Bristol says that over a quarter of those engaging with esports betting tweets are children under the age of 16. - British Labor MP Carolyn Harris the chair of the UK’s all party parliamentary group on gambling declared: “Britain is suffering an epidemic of child gambling.”[\[9\]](#_ftn9) --- [\[1\]](#_ftnref1) University of Northern Iowa and Iowa Department of Public Health Study [\[2\]](#_ftnref2) University of Northern Iowa and Iowa Department of Public Health Study [\[3\]](#_ftnref3) “Online Gambling: Addicted to Addiction,” ResPublica Report, August 17, 2018 [\[4\]](#_ftnref4) “Most online gamblers bet using loans,” The Times UK, Feb. 13, 2018 [\[5\]](#_ftnref5) “Sports Betting Research, University of Tasmania School of Social Sciences [\[6\]](#_ftnref6) “Esports could be quietly spawning a whole new generation of problem gamblers” The Conversation. (October 1, 2020) [\[7\]](#_ftnref7) “Esports could be quietly spawning a whole new generation of problem gamblers” The Conversation. (October 1, 2020) [\[8\]](#_ftnref8) “Esports could be quietly spawning a whole new generation of problem gamblers” The Conversation. (October 1, 2020) [\[9\]](#_ftnref9) The Daily Mail, Nov. 9, 2020