As of last week, Colorado gamblers can no longer use credit cards to fund sports betting apps, and they are limited to six deposits per day. The new rules come from a bipartisan bill passed in May after lawmakers grew alarmed by rising addiction rates — especially among young men and boys.
We have written repeatedly about the explosion in gambling over the past few years. Studies show more than half of men ages 18 – 49 now have an active sportsbook account online. The Denver Post reports Colorado gamblers bet a staggering $6.4 billion on sports last year alone. But this kind of gambling is taking a serious toll on everyday families.
A recent report from the Ethics and Public Policy Center found legal sports betting is linked to increases in personal bankruptcies and credit card delinquencies, writing:
This rise in bankruptcy rates translates to roughly 30,000 more personal bankruptcies in the United States every year, and the households that experienced most adverse effects were the ones with existing financial constraints when legalization occurred.
Bankruptcy attorneys across the country say online sports betting is driving a surge in personal bankruptcies — especially among young men in their 20s and 30s.
Chad Van Horn, a bankruptcy attorney in Florida, recently told Business Insider that roughly 15% of his clients now carry gambling-related debt — and that it piles up faster than any other type of debt he sees.
He described clients going from zero to $25,000 in credit card debt in a matter of months. “The debt builds incredibly fast because people aren’t gambling with cash; they’re gambling with borrowed money,” Van Horn said.
Ed Boltz, a bankruptcy attorney in North Carolina, said the same thing, noting that, “It has been astonishing, the speed in which people can fall into this.”
Researchers at UCLA estimate that online sportsbooks are linked to an increase of roughly 30,000 more bankruptcies per year nationwide.
A report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that states with legal mobile sports betting have seen credit delinquency rates spike — especially among borrowers under 40.
The list goes on.
These financial problems affect families and even whole communities.
Prohibiting sportsbooks from accepting credit cards could help protect gamblers from running up excessive gambling debts.
Family Council has said before that restrictions like this one are something Arkansas could do to address predatory gambling.
As powerful corporations try to make gambling part of everyday life, it is important for Arkansas to protect its citizens and families the way other states have done. Otherwise, gambling addiction will simply continue wrecking lives and hurting families in our state.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
