Fast-paced gambling, like casinos and video gambling, also maximizes addiction. In Iowa, the 1991 legalization of riverboat casinos more than tripled addiction. A study released in 1995 found that 5.4 percent of the state's adults were pathological or problem gamblers compared to only 1.7 percent before riverboats came. Just four years after Louisiana legalized casinos and slot machines, a study found that 7 percent of adults had become addicted. In Minnesota , as 16 Indian casinos opened across the state, the number of Gamblers Anonymous groups shot up from 1 to 49.
Pathological gamblers lose all their money.
Then they run up credit card debt. They sell or pawn possessions and beg for loans. Thousands file bankruptcy. Many commit suicide. Pathological gambling rarely affects just one person.