Tvonia Thomas said that scratch-off lotto games were consuming every aspect of her life in Virginia.
Even though she rarely won big jackpots, Thomas told ABC News Live that the rush of going out to the convenience store for those tickets was stronger than the urge to eat a meal.
“It feels like your heart’s going to explode, but you love it,” the recovering gambling addict said. “You don’t know what’s going to be behind that glitter that’s underneath that ticket.”
Thomas is not alone. Some addiction specialists say more people are fighting these extreme compulsions for scratch-off tickets and that state officials need to step up to curb the problem that they say disproportionately affects minorities and low-income players.
