Florida sees rise in gambling addiction

Categories

Addiction Treatment
Alcohol
Drugs
Gambling
In the papers
On TV

News Archive

Home » News » Gambling » Florida sees rise in gambling addiction

by Change | 24 Feb 2009

Bookmark

E-mail

Since the state of Florida legalised blackjack, there has been a surge in people heading to rehab centers complaining of being addicted to the card game

A growing number of people in Florida are turning to community rehab centers in an effort to tackle gambling addictions.

According to the Miami Herald, there has been a sharp rise in the number of people contacting gambling addiction helplines complaining of addiction to blackjack, which was legalised in the state last year.

Overall calls to the state addiction line increased by 16 per cent in January, compared with a year earlier.

Of those that made the call, 43 per cent said they had become addicted to blackjack, compared to just nine per cent the previous year, while poker addiction had dropped significantly as a proportion of the total.

This means more people in the state are likely to visit community rehab centers in a bid to kick their new-found habit and has also resulted in renewed calls for the card game to be banned once again.

One rehab clinic offering help to those suffering with gambling addiction is Windmoor Healthcare of Clearwater in Florida.

Tom Talley, from the rehab center, told My Fox Tampa Bay that many people are trying to gamble their way out of financial difficulty at the moment, as the economic crisis makes life tough for Americans.

Bookmark this: