Before riverboats came to the state, only 1.7 percent of Iowans were lifetime pathological or problem gamblers. Last year in Louisiana, just four years after the state legalized casinos and slots, a study found that 7 percent of adults had become addicted to gambling. In Minnesota, as sixteen Indian casinos opened across the state, the number of Gamblers Anonymous groups shot up from one to forty-nine. Whether it's roulette, slots or lotteries, the odds always favor the house. And the more one gambles against these odds, the more certain it becomes that one will lose.
Pathological gamblers lose all the money they have.
Then they run up credit card debt. They sell or pawn possessions and plead for loans from family and friends. More than half end up stealing money, often from their employers. Thousands file bankruptcy. Many addicts can't be helped they commit suicide.