Rutgers professor gives expert opinion on legalized gambling in NJ
Legalized gambling could increase its prevalence amongst those who are underaged, said Lia Nower, director of the Center for Gambling Studies, co-director of the Addiction Counselor Training Certificate Program and professor at the School of Social Work.
In June 2018, Gov. Phil Murphy (D-N.J.) signed a bill making sports betting legal throughout the state. The bill was signed in an effort to prop up casinos and attract new businesses, according to The New York Times. But Nower said this bill may have a poor impact on young sports fans.
Sports gambling, as well as online gambling, Nower said, causes an increase in the potential for underaged bettors.
“The other danger with sports betting are the safeguards. A lot of sports bettors gamble with their fathers, brothers, uncles, etc. So it's easier to find a way around the age limits by playing with someone older or using their account. That is the biggest danger posed by sports betting, that is different from other forms of gambling,” Nower said.
Sports betting is also a problem on college campuses, she said.
“Particularly among young males, it's very popular. It’s very popular on college campuses. The likelihood is that there are going to be a lot of underaged people who are going to find a way to do it,” Nower said.
The Academy Awards were also available for betting. New Jersey is the first state to allow gambling on the award show, according to The Inquirer.
The ability to bet on the Oscars may be harmful for those with a gambling addiction, Nower said, as it provides another outlet for gamblers.
“Problem gambling has an additive component. The more activities you play the more often at more venues, the more likely you are to develop a problem,” she said.
The full impact of academy betting cannot be fully understood at this point, she said. But the inclusion of Academy Award betting may harm those who are in the process of developing a gambling addiction, or even those who have never gambled before.
“However, if you’re already developing a problem, the more things you can gamble on, the more money you can lose. What gambling on the Oscars, and any new form of gambling does, is it introduces gambling to people who may not have gambled before,” Nower said.
The gambling industry may be seeking out younger people as well, she said.
“Casinos typically appeal to older people. So now the industry is trying to figure out how to draw in millenials, younger people. And so, the more that there can be legal gambling on your particular interest, the more likely you are to gamble, even if you were a person who would never have gone to a casino,” she said.
Nower’s Center for Gambling Studies is dedicated to combating the issue of problem gambling through various methods, she said.
“We have three focuses for our work. The first is that we do a lot of gambling-related research studies, so we do all the data analysis for the state of New Jersey on internet gaming,” Nower said. “We develop treatments, and we evaluate the treatments that are given to problem gamblers. We participate in a lot of different international research projects.”
