The University of Northern Iowa recently released the results of a survey conducted for the Iowa Department of Public Health in which 1,826 people were interviewed about their gambling activities. In 2013, 78 percent of Iowa adults said they had gambled in the previous 12 months, up from 69 percent two years earlier, according to the survey. Respondents said their favorite forms of gambling are lottery tickets, raffle tickets, scratch tickets, slot machines and card games with friends or family members, in that order.
Nearly 30 percent of those surveyed said they know someone with a gambling problem, and 56 percent said they believe gambling’s negative societal effects outweigh the benefits.
The survey also found that about 2 percent of respondents showed signs of problem gambling in the previous 12 months and nearly 4 percent showed behaviors putting them at moderate risk for problem gambling. Those levels were about the same as in 2011. The survey estimated that about 43,000 Iowans have gambling problems.
Eric Preuss of the Iowa Office of Problem Gambling Treatment and Prevention, said, “We know the majority of Iowans who gamble do so simply because it’s fun and they do not have financial or emotional problems as a result of it. However, this study found 16 percent of adult Iowans were classified as at-risk gamblers in 2013. That’s 369,000 Iowans who may have one or more symptoms of problem gambling.”
The state uses gaming tax revenues to finance treatment for problem gambling. Services are provided through the hotline, 1-800-BETS OFF, and the web site, www.1800BETSOFF.org.
