Hello Recovery Friends, Supporters, and New Visitors,
I have several updates and opportunities for you! One is about an exceptional video to watch of a conference held last week about STATE LOTTERIES. It is very informative to watch. The other news is TWO opportunities to share your story and experiences with ONLINE SPORTS BETTING.
Then, the fine folks of the MA Council on Problem Gambling are looking for people willing to share their stories of gambling addiction or problem gambling and recovery exclusively for their website. See all the details below. I always enjoy keeping everyone informed and educated, including the public!
~Advocate Catherine Lyon
“Investigative journalist seeking to interview citizens who’ve suffered harm from online sports gambling“
Stop Predatory Gambling was contacted by a national investigative journalist who is seeking to interview citizens who have been harmed in some way by online sports gambling and the gambling operators behind it. The person could be anyone who developed an online sports gambling problem, a loved one or friend of an addicted online sports gambler, an employer, etc. The person can do the interview anonymously if professional or family considerations are a significant factor.
People revealing the truth about predatory gambling with these kinds of stories can make a real difference in bringing about change. Please ask your family, friends, co-workers, and website visitors if they know someone who has been harmed and is open to discussing what happened.
If they are a member of Gamblers Anonymous or Gam-Anon, any interview will not reference GA in keeping with the guidelines of those organizations.
Please call or email me as soon as possible if you know someone, and I’ll pass it on to the journalist to get them connected.
Thank you.
Best,
Les Bernal
Stop Predatory Gambling
Stop Predatory Gambling Foundation
100 Maryland Avenue NE, Room 310 | Washington, District of Columbia 20002
(202) 567-6996 | les@stoppredatorygambling.org
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A Message and OpportunityFrom MA Office of The National Council on Problem Gambling:
Massachusetts Council on Gaming and Health
ICYMI: “Our Tell Your Story series” is accepting submissions. No writing is required, just a brief, confidential interview on your real-life experience with gambling.
Check out current submissions here: https://bit.ly/3LReU8l
Interested in participating? Email pshewood@macgh.org.
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And Lastly, A Message From Les Bernal of Stop Predatory Gambling ~ STATE LOTTERIES
Catherine,
Below is the video to watch last week’s important national event, “How States’ Experiment with Lotteries Has Failed and Why It Affects You,” which featured prominent national lottery expert Dr. Jonathan Cohen, author of the important new book “For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America,” and Sean Mussenden, data editor for the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at the University of Maryland who was a key figure behind the publication of the 2022 groundbreaking national series on state lotteries, “Mega Billions: The Great Lottery Wealth Transfer.” Brief background about each speaker is below.
If you didn’t get to attend, I urge you to watch the forum. Cohen and Mussenden were engaging, highly knowledgeable, and persuasive. After you watch it, I strongly urge you to share the video with your email list and your social media networks, inviting people to learn for themselves how severe and urgent the problem of state lotteries has become and how it affects all of us, including those who rarely, if ever, gamble on the lottery.
I also strongly encourage you to share the video with every local, state, and federal official in your region, along with members of the local and state media.
The video is NOW posted to our Stop Predatory Gambling YouTube channel, and it can be watched here.
You can also click on the image below.
This webinar is one of a series of events that we’re hosting, and we’d be grateful if you would please take one minute to fill out this brief survey about the event to give us your feedback.
About the Speakers:
Dr. Jonathan D. Cohen is a program officer at the American Academy of Arts & Sciences. He is the co-editor of All In: The Spread of Gambling in Twentieth-Century United States and Long Walk Home: Reflections on Bruce Springsteen. He received his Ph.D. in history from the University of Virginia. His new book “For a Dollar and a Dream: State Lotteries in Modern America” was published by Oxford University Press and can be purchased here. (Use coupon code AAFLYG6 to receive a 30% discount.)
Sean Mussenden is the data editor for the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism, an investigative reporting unit at the University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism that partners early-career journalists and veteran journalists at news organizations like the Associated Press, PBS NewsHour, and National Public Radio to produce deeply reported investigative stories.
He was a crucial figure in the Howard Center’s recently published “Mega Billions: The great lottery wealth transfer,” an in-depth look at lotteries in nearly every state.
We can fund essential events like this national webinar because of our members’ selfless financial generosity. If you support our mission to reveal the truth behind commercialized gambling operators to prevent more victims, please become a member of our national network by making a gift of any size you can afford today.
Thank you.
Best,
Les Bernal
Stop Predatory Gambling
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