Connecticut tracks online gambling closely, but not problem gambling; legislative hearing set for Monday

Connecticut tracks online gambling closely, but not problem gambling; legislative hearing set for Monday

Article brief provided by The CT Mirror
  • Mark Pazniokas, The CT Mirror
January 23, 2022 5:53 PM
  • Mark Pazniokas, The CT Mirror

Connecticut’s problem-gambling hotline is busiest on Mondays, the day after America’s holy day of televised NFL football, when ubiquitous ads from DraftKings and FanDuel offer “free play” and “risk-free” bets.

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Compared to November 2020, hotline calls were up 87% in November 2021, the first full month after Connecticut flipped the switch on online gambling and made every smartphone a portal to two casinos and three sports books for anyone 21 and older.

“The new thing is people saying, ‘I just lost everything yesterday, because it was Football Sunday,'” said Diana Goode, executive director of the hotline’s operator, the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling.

Goode said she took two such calls on the same Monday last month.