Gambling Help Line Calls Spiked Right After Michigan Allowed Online Gaming
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In late January, Michigan opened the doors for online gambling and sports betting. In the first 10 days, the Michigan Gaming Control Board announced operators collected $42.7 million in gross receipts from home betting.
The state also saw a huge jump in calls to the Michigan Problem Gambling Helpline. In February, the state took 563 gambling addiction line calls, up more than five times from February 2020, the Lansing State Journal reports.
Michelle Malkin, a Ph.D. candidate studying problem gambling at Michigan State University's school of justice, tells the paper:
"Casinos are at limited capacity right now because of the pandemic. The only thing that could really [explain] this is the growth of online gambling. Because that's really the only big change that's happened in Michigan."
