[ticking] People want to hear the story of, “FanDuel ruined my life,” or “DraftKings ruined my life.” And, it's really not the case.

Arenas are going to be gambling parlors.

There's the Betfred South Lawn Lounge, say that five times fast, or the BetMGM In-Stadium Lounge.

There's more and more opportunity for people that have issues.

Colorado Lottery today encouraging people to take a free screening thats on their website.

Once it starts to go downhill, you talk about your wins so much, nobody really knows how much you're losing, so you hide that from everybody.

It now becomes a completely hidden addiction.

Gambling addiction is actually the addiction with the highest rate of suicide of all addictions, but it's more hidden.

It is normalized, so its like, “No big deal.

Everybody's doing it.” What, whats your stance on, on legalized gambling?

I think it I think it can, it should be legal.

[neon buzzing] [neon buzzing] [low music] In the first three episodes of this series, we tracked sports betting from its cold open during Covid through the industry's explosive growth.

In a few short years, the industry has raised millions of dollars in tax revenue that has helped fund hundreds of water projects across the state.

We also explored the darker side of sports betting, and the stories of addiction, particularly among young men.

In this final episode, we'll conclude with some closing thoughts on how sports betting has shaped the state, as well as some ways in which organizations are working to build healthier gamblers.

This is “Cash Out.” People that were nervous about it, I don't think this has gone away.

Gambling addiction is on the rise in our state.

Its everywhere.

They do a really good job of reeling you in.

So there was rightfully a concern that we would be creating a mechanism that might put even more people out on our streets.

That is in large part why a portion of all the revenue that goes into the state treasury is dedicated to gaming addiction.

That was probably enough for some people to say, “Okay, I can support this.” More than $100,000 each year will be funneled to help with gambling addiction.

It's a continuous policy debate about are we spending enough on the treatment of the social ill that comes along with this.

And, I think reasonable people can have differing opinions on that.

As of August 2023, 23 states, including Colorado, allocate some money towards responsible gambling and/or problem gambling support initiatives.

Proposition DD requires Colorado to allocate at least $130,000 each year to gambling disorder counseling services and a gambling crisis hotline.

We're wanting to guard against as much as possible the dynamic that that the least able to afford to game were going to be the ones doing most of the betting.

We're seeing in states that have legalized sports gambling there's been a nearly 30% uptick in bankruptcy.

On average, credit scores are lower in those states.

We're in the Problem Gambling Center.

Its one of the only centers in the entire country dedicated just to problem gambling.

As sports betting specifically has grown in popularity, how has that impacted what you all are doing here?

We've certainly seen an increase in people calling to the Center, reaching out for help.

In the last seven months of 2020, when sports betting became legal, that number jumped to 4,834 calls.

We get about 300 engagements per month.

And so those are phone calls, those are emails, or people coming to the Center for support services.

Last year it doubled from the year before, and we're continuing to see an increase.

I remember around like five years ago, it started coming up more frequently in the sessions that I'm doing.

How would you distinguish, from a clinical standpoint, when it becomes problem gambling?

I'm looking at if there's distress around it.

If people are lying and not being honest about it.

How much time they're spending on it?

Are they sleeping or are they staying up all night?

Are they doing it during meetings?

Like can they put it down?

Can they take a step back?

I think we've just scratched the surface on really understanding this addiction.

But since there is limited funding, we just have to work with what we have, unfortunately.

They put some money aside for helping problem gaming.

And we found out fairly quick that even the money that they put aside probably wasn't going to be enough.

We worked with the Speaker at the time, and we really came up with a good bill that put some money aside, and quite a bit of money starting at about $2.5 million up from about $130,000, and directed that towards grants that could go into the problem gaming or into research into the problem gaming.

Since Colorado launched the Responsible Gaming Grant program in 2023, the state has awarded a few million dollars in grants to organizations like the Gambling Coalition of Colorado, and the Kindbridge Research Institute.

The PGCC received about $1.1 million in 2023, around $750,000 in 2024, and about $1.2 million in 2025.

However, it's worth mentioning that Colorado is only legally required to grant $130,000 toward problem gambling resources each year, as outlined in Proposition DD.

That's about 0.35% of the $36.8 million the state earned from sports betting tax revenue in the last fiscal year.

The Responsible Gaming Grant Program supplements this, though as total sports betting tax revenue has increased significantly in the past three years, The amount assigned for problem gambling services has remained about the same.

Additionally, it is unclear how much, if any, of the money from the sports betting tax revenue goes to the Responsible Gaming Grant Program, which is funded through a number of different sources.

After helping PointsBet launch their Denver headquarters, Pat Eichner transitioned to a different side of the sports betting industry.

Today, he is the Head of Communications and Partnerships at Kindbridge Research Institute a national nonprofit focused on researching and building treatments for those with problem gaming and gambling disorders.

Looking back at your time doing PR for sports betting, Do you have any kind of reservations about the work you did?

I don't I don't have any reservations about the work I did at PointsBet.

And I definitely do think from a moral standpoint, I am really, really thrilled to be doing the work Im doing today to be doing the work Im doing today with Kindbridge, where our most well-known specialty is helping folks through gambling disorder.

... and all the complexities that come with a gambling lifestyle.

There's more and more opportunity for people that have issues.

We have the opportunity with the programs that we have, the things that we put in place, the things that sportsbooks have put into place themselves, for people to really educate themselves, to make sure that they're using the tools to monitor their betting, setting limits.

(video) Responsible gambling is... Its worth highlighting why a legal industry is important.

If this were 2013, you would be wagering with offshore operators like a Bovada, like a Bovada, or a BetOnline, or a 5Dimes.

or a BetOnline, or a 5Dimes.

If you just cut people off without any help, they're going to go find something else, they're going to go find black market sites.

Those companies, they don't have the same legal requirements that a FanDuel or DraftKings do operating in Colorado.

that a FanDuel or DraftKings do operating in Colorado.

The focus around responsible gaming best practices that is something that we have seen grow and grow for the better since 2019.

You can make the argument that legalizing this could be a good thing, but it will also increase the amount of people who are participating and engaging in this behavior once it becomes legalized.

It's a silent addiction, and so a lot of times the people who are struggling are struggling in secret.

Gambling addiciton is actually the addiction with the highest rate of suicide of all addictions.

There are people who are dying from gambling addiction, but it's more hidden.

There's not a lot of funding in our state for problem gambling.

We see the need increasing.

We see the need increasing.

And so if the funding ever began to decrease, wed be in a very difficult spot.

So the question remains: Was legalizing sports gambling a winning bet?

Supporters point to the millions of dollars sports betting has raised in additional tax revenue and increased viewership among larger and smaller sports.

Critics point to rising rates of gambling addiction and interference in the sports themselves, like the recent multimillion-dollar sports-betting bust that may have included Hall of Fame basketball player and Denver native, Chauncey Billups.

Theres a lot of gambling accusations going on right now with professional sports players getting caught, and I read through the comments, and its a joke to some people.

Zach still participates in PGCC programing, but he's not an employee of the organization, and the views he has on sports betting are his own.

What's your stance on legalized gambling?

I think it I think it can, it should be legal.

Alcohol is legal.

Cigarettes is legal.

But I do think that there needs to be some more safety precautions and really being transparent about what it can turn into.

One of the things that I would like to see this organization be able to do a lot more of is just prevention.

Im frankly tired of picking up the phone call when someone's life is in shambles.

It doesn't have to be you're losing everything for it to be a problem.

you're losing everything for it to be a problem.

I think it's more about just normalizing a conversation about how this interacts with mental health.

about how this interacts with mental health.

You know, the mental health side of of betting and handicapping I think, is if something that doesn't get enough run.

I'm realistic with my students.

I'm not going to say, like, “You cant gamble.” or, I mean, its their legal right.

I always tell them to be safe.

Know your limit.

Know your means.

...to ask them, “How do you feel when you see a betting ad like this?” You know they love gambling, you know they love betting on things.

If they're that kid, have these conversations because this is really real.

I would like to send a team out and do more media messaging.

Do more grassroots messaging.

More tabling events.

Talk more to young people.

With sports betting becoming more visible Can you tell me a little bit about the group sessions that you are a part of here?

Theres a, almost a meeting every night in person.

almost a meeting every night in person.

It's very heavily sports-gambling focused.

A lot of younger people in the community.

You can develop friendships in recovery.

How long have you been How long have you been clean from gambling?

About a year and five months.

Do you still watch sports?

I do still watch sports, but it definitely takes your love for the, for the game away.

Dont get started.

Aw, cmon dude!

Its a losing game in the end, but it is really fun.

(narrator) Down to the ages, Mans quest for easy wealth has often led to gambling.

I had a cash out for close to $1000 bucks last week.

(narrator) There have always been those whove chose to worship at the altar of that fickle goddess: Chance.

The lesson is stay smart, but place a couple of fun bets once in a while.

You have to be in it just for the, the love of the game, no other skin attached.

It s okay to have some fun, but dont bet outside of your means, just be smart about it, and be careful.

[neon buzzing] Thank you for joining us on “Cash Out.” If you or someone you know is experiencing problem gambling, you can call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit the Problem Gambling Coalition of Colorado website to learn more.