According to a recent research carried out by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services in Ohio, the number of problem gamblers among the adult Ohio residents has increased over the last five years due to opening of casinos and racinos. Still, the number of the affected people still remains low.
Yesterday, an analysis of the Ohio Gaming Survey – Round Two was also released by the Ohio for Responsible Gambling coalition as a sequent of the major survey that was carried out back in 2012. Currently, the Department is part of the coalition, along with the local Commissions of Casino Control, Lottery and Racing.
Recent Report Data
Over 24,000 adult residents of the state of Ohio aged 18 and older took part in the surveys being held over the phone. The data gathered was analysed by the Ohio State University researchers, who took into account the participants’ age, gender, race, etc. in order to reflect the situation as precisely as possible.
According to the survey worth $1.3 million, a total of 0.9% of the local residents aged 18 or older confessed they were dealing with problem gambling behaviour. This accounts for approximately 76,400 people, with the percentage having more than doubled from 0.4%, or about 46,200, reported in 2012. Overall, to date about one in ten adults being considered as exposed to risk.
The comforting news is that the percentage reported is considerably lower than the national average of 2.2% of people who describe themselves as gambling addicts in the past year, according to the above-mentioned survey. The problem gambling rate in the state of Ohio has increased slowly for the time being, and the experts say that there is no reason for concerns that their rate is to reach the national average thanks to special programs that have been earlier released across the state, aiming to provide local residents with education, prevention and treatment of problem gambling.
Casino Gambling in Ohio Becoming More Popular
Currently, according to the coalition, adult Ohio residents gamble in various ways, including casinos, bingo, sports betting, horse racing, lottery, keno, scratch-off cards, and the so-called 50-50 raffles.
As reported by Casino Guardian in May, state officials have revealed that the number of Ohio residents who were affected by gambling addictions has risen over the past two years. Despite the fact that casino legislation in the region has been pointed as one of the main reasons for the increase, state officials further explained that the increased availability of problem gambling treatment has also been one of the main causes for the rise.
The state of Ohio saw the first casino there open in 2012. Since then, a rapid increase in the number of local residents who suffered from problem gambling behaviour was reported, with casino gambling becoming more and more popular across the state.
In May, it came to our knowledge there were 924 people who got treated for problem gambling behaviour in 2014. Two years later, in 2016, their number of people treated for similar disorders rose to 1,028.
- Author
Daniel Williams
