Are you struggling with gambling or gaming addiction/disorder? Or, are you concerned about someone in your family or organization? You're not alone.
Despite taking a firm stance against many forms of “real money gaming”, Florida’s population has a disproportionately high struggle with problem gambling.
Research has found that the Sunshine State’s rates of combined problem/pathological gambling is approximately 60% higher than found nationally by Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria. Furthermore, the at-risk population in Florida for problem/pathological gambling 4%, which is nearly two times than found across the United States. The National Council on Problem Gambling reports that around 435,000 of the adult population in Florida are classified as either problem or pathological gamblers. That’s over 2.5% of the state’s of-age residents. This does not count underage gamblers, which is also a growing concern and implies that data for the state is already underrepresented.
Are you (or a loved one) a part of this population? As statistics show, you’re certainly not alone. Read ahead for further insight, or get immediate access to gambling rehab in Florida by contacting a Kindbridge Care co-ordinator right away:
A Brief Background on Problem Gambling in Florida
Florida legalized gambling during the Great Depression in 1932, although things took a turn for gaming operators in 1973 when casinos were forced by the state to remove slot machines from their respective premises. In the years to follow moves were made to subvert attempts to keep the population from gambling via slots and table games alike. For instance, creative “venues” such as cruise services featuring onboard casinos popped up off the docks of Florida waterways. Then in 2004, the state legalized casino gambling by permitting gambling at establishments run through the Seminoles and other powerful local Indian tribes. Moreover, illegal gambling operators have been providing residents “in the know” which channels for casino gaming and sports betting for decades. Collectively, these access points to gambling (no matter how convoluted) are responsible for the disproportionate growth of problem gambling in Florida. Even more concerning, is that it’s about to get even worse.
The Introduction of Sports Betting
The need for problem gambling treatment and therapy is now growing at an unprecedented pace. While Florida has maintained it’s position against sports betting for 5 years after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted it’s ban on the activity in 2018, things are changing.
As alluded to above, residents already have access to unregulated sports betting sites. This is being compounded by the introduction of land-based and mobile sports betting, which became a result on June 30 of 2023, when the D.C. Circuit Court handed Florida’s Seminole Tribe a big win, reversing a lower court decision that struck down the gaming compact signed between the state and the tribe. Prior to the ruling, the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) gaming compact can legally authorize a tribe to conduct gaming on only its own lands. But now (at press) the new ruling implies that the Seminole Tribe may accept online sports bets from anywhere in the state, so long as the computer servers processing those bets are on Seminole land.
Florida’s inevitable spot on the map of U.S. states with legal sports betting calls for concurrent growth of gambling rehab access.
Increased Demand for Problem Gambling Treatment in Florida
If what has happened in all other regulated markets of the USA is any indicator, the 4% at-risk problem gambling population in Florida is about to grow even bigger. Problem gambling support services must grow at an equal to or greater rate to keep up with the demand.
There are currently Florida gambling rehab resources available through the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling and the Florida Department of Health along with self-help channels such as Gamblers Anonymous . While these routes may certainly be effective, they simply can’t keep up with the large demand from Florida’s population. Vulnerable residents need powerful online gambling treatment and therapy that they can begin today.
This is where Kindbridge Behavioral Health comes in.
Kindbridge has entered the state to provide people, households, groups, organizations, and educational institutions with much-needed support. We have created a affordable, welcoming, and safe virtual environment where clients/patients get immediate help for gambling disorder. Select the service you need:
In addition to gambling disorder treatment, we provide therapy for related afflictions:
Are you unsure if your problem gambling concern is a match for our services? Or do you have other questions before getting started?
Contact Kindbridge to ask for help.