Cuyahoga County is starting the state’s first addiction gambling court program. The launch of the program comes ahead of the start of legalized sports betting in Ohio next year.
According to Play It Safe Ohio, approximately 220,000 Ohioans engage in at-risk gambling and 30,000 engage in problem gambling behaviors.
Karen Russo was the director of responsible gambling for the Ohio Lottery and has been working on the Problem Gambling Addiction Program. She said it’s important to launch the program before sports betting becomes legal in Ohio next year.
“Calls to the problem gambling hotline have already increased 32% for sports betting alone,” Russo said, “and it’s not even legal yet.”
