Lawmakers in Bismarck, North Dakota were advised last week that they should set aside funds to treat problem gambling if they take steps to legalize sports betting.
Two representatives, Jason Dockter and Thomas Beadle have introduced separate bills that would authorize sports wagering, with the hope of generating money for the charitable gaming industry.
Lisa Vig of Gamblers Choice, a treatment program in Fargo commented that for some people wagering is a “life-altering addiction.”
Dockter’s bill includes college and professional sports, while Beadle’s bill is limited to professional sports. None has a provision for funding counseling for addictive gaming. Vig has requested that such a provision be included.
North Dakota joins the list of states considering becoming the eighth state to legalize sports book. Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Tennessee and Virginia have bills being discussed.
North Dakota has a lottery and allows charitable gaming such as pull-tabs, bingo, blackjack and other games. Under the two bills sports betting would fit under that umbrella. The lottery currently sets aside $320,000 a year for treatment programs and which helps fund Gamblers Choice. If sports betting is legalized, some estimate it could contribute $1.2 million to that fund over the next two years.
Family Policy Alliance of North Dakota Executive Director Mark Jorritsma told the House Judiciary Committee “Sports betting is bad social policy, it is bad economic policy and it is bad governmental policy.”
Governor Doug Burgum has announced he is neutral on such legislation. A spokesman said he was “open to looking at ways to potentially capitalize on the national change.”
