From My Friends of “The National Council on Problem Gambling”…
“TODAY, Sunday, more than 50 million across the country plan to place a sports wager on Super Bowl LVII– a 61% increase from 2022.
If you choose to place a bet, make a plan, set a budget, set a time limit & play #responsibly!“
One In Every Five Problem Gamblers May Try Suicide From The Financial Hardships That Comes From Being Addicted to Uncontrollable Gambling”. . .
Advocate, Catherine Lyon
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Important update from my friends at “Stop Predatory Gambling”…
Director’s Note — Winter 2023
I’m writing this note at one of the most extraordinary moments in the history of our fight to protect the 40 million Americans suffering harm because of the greed of big gambling operators. In early November, California voters overwhelmingly rejected two ballot questions that would have allowed online gambling and sports gambling across the state. They resoundingly voted No in the face of more than $600 million in campaign spending of self-interested gambling operators – demolishing the most expensive lobbying campaign in US history.
And then just two weeks later, in a front page, above-the-fold series, The New York Times published the most detailed, thorough, and revealing investigation into the commercialized gambling industry by any national media outlet in at least fifteen years. If you didn’t read the series yet, you can find the stories here: Story #1, Story #2, Story #3, and Story #4.
The Times investigation shined a powerful light upon the corrupt and deceitful lobbying campaign to push sports gambling and online gambling across the US. Predatory gambling is America’s most-neglected major problem, which is why this Times investigation is even more significant.
We are trying hard to seize this historic moment. We’ve added several accomplished and passionate national board members. We added three talented and committed staff members but urgently need several others. We’ve attracted even more national press for our work: in recent weeks we’ve been quoted on CNN, Fox National News, and National Public Radio’s All Things Considered along with at least 15 different statewide media outlets from across the US.
To maximize our impact, we are narrowing our focus on what I consider the three pillars of gambling reform:
1) Restrict gambling advertising, marketing, and sponsorships to protect the health and well-being of kids and their families.
2) Cut the financial losses that citizens are suffering from commercialized gambling by 50%.
3) End the profiteering by gambling operators at the expense of citizens who have been turned into gambling addicts.
“How” we achieve these major reforms is by expanding our national reach through advocacy, litigation, and education efforts that reveal the truth behind gambling operators and their partners. Specifically, we will work to restrict gambling ads, reduce gambling losses, and dismantle the sham system of “responsible gambling” that has allowed operators to inflict severe harm on millions of Americans.
We will work with legislators and other opinion leaders on bills that achieve these goals at the federal, state, and local levels. We will partner with reform-minded attorneys to fight for these reforms through the courts.
And, we will dramatically expand our education efforts to include: a 2023 national conference in the Washington, DC area on April 28-29th (registration and more info can be found here or by clicking the image below); at least ten webinar events with the best independent experts in the world; a bigger presence on national media; and a long-overdue focus on social media.
Our members make our country a more just, loving, and merciful place. Thank you for the contributions you make to our network and to our nation.
Sincerely,
Les Bernal, National Director
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