Maryland is falling short of expectations and national standards in helping people suffering from a gambling problem, a legislative report shows.
An estimated 405,000 people in Maryland — or 8.6% of all adult residents in the state — had experienced a gambling disorder in their life as of 2020, the study states. The national mean was 4% to 5%.
From 2020 to 2022, roughly 2% of the total number of people believed to have had a gambling problem during their life sought help from the state’s resources.
“We didn’t know how deep the problem was,” said Sen. Clarence Lam, chair of the legislature’s joint Audit and Evaluation Committee, which requested the report be conducted.
