Report Exposes Sports Betting Industry’s Opposition to Gambling Addiction Safeguards
A new report from the group Campaign for Accountability alleges lobbyists for the sports betting industry have successfully opposed legislation and safeguards intended to protect people from gambling addiction.
The report comes as sports betting continues to grow across America.
In a press release, Campaign for Accountability Executive Director Michelle Kuppersmith said,
“It’s an open secret that addicted players are the gambling industry’s best customers, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that sports betting companies aren’t eager to implement controls that minimize addictiveness. Legislators need to understand that the gambling industry—like the tobacco industry before it—cannot self-regulate when profits and the addictiveness of their product is so tightly linked.
“CfA’s research adds to a growing body of evidence showing the gambling industry isn’t simply a passive bystander in how addicted players interact with their products. Rather, the industry is actively fighting against many of the measures that could start to reduce harms.”
Internet sports betting has made it possible for Arkansans to gamble — and lose — on sporting events from anywhere in the state.
Nationwide, sports betting is now legal in 39 states — including Arkansas, where people, on average, wager more than a million dollars a day, most months.
That kind of gambling ruins lives, tears families apart, and hurts communities.
Studies show people who gamble on sports may be twice as likely to suffer from gambling problems.
Young men in particular are hurt by sports betting. Twenty-year-old males account for approximately 40% of calls to gambling addiction hotlines, and upwards of 20 million men are in debt or have been in debt as a result of sports betting.
And research now shows that the legalization of sports betting may be linked to serious financial problems in America — such as credit card debt, overdrafts, late payments on loans, lower credit scores, and higher bankruptcy rates.
Last year the Arkansas Problem Gambling Council announced it had seen a 22% increase in calls for help — a spike driven largely by sports betting.
Gambling in Arkansas and nationwide is out of control, and it is ruining lives. Tax revenue from casinos and sports betting has not improved Arkansas’ roads or boosted the economy.
As powerful corporations try to make gambling part of everyday life, it’s important for Arkansas to protect citizens and families from predatory gambling. 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.
Parents Know Best When It Comes To Their Kids’ Education
The following is from our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom.
Oklahoma should be able to choose the best schools for its charter-school program, and the Constitution prevents the state from excluding schools from that program simply because they are religious.
Oklahoma law creates a charter-school program, and it invites private organizations to apply to operate charter schools in the state—except state law says religious groups cannot participate. But when St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School applied to operate a virtual charter school in Oklahoma, the Statewide Charter School Board faced a choice: deny the otherwise-qualified application as state law said or do what the First Amendment requires and approve the school. After then-Oklahoma Attorney General John O’Connor advised the board members that the ban on religious organizations participating in the charter-school program is likely unconstitutional, the Board approved the school in June 2023.
Current Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond disagreed with that decision, so he sued the Charter School Board. ADF represents the Board. After the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled against the Board and ordered it to exclude St. Isidore, the Board appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. On January 24, 2025, the high court agreed to hear the case. The case will be argued on April 30 and likely decided in June.
This case is about educational freedom, empowering parents, and equal treatment of religious people and groups. Parents deserve more choices for their children’s education. Different children flourish in different environments, and providing a wide variety of options allows parents to choose the best education for their children. People of faith deserve options that align with their faith. It is discriminatory to allow charter-school options for parents who believe in Montessori education, for example, while forbidding charter-school options for religious parents who want their children educated consistent with their faith.
Learn more about the Supreme Court case Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board v. Drummond: https://adflegal.org/drummond