Dial the volume to North Carolina Problem Gambling Helpline has grown significantly since sports betting went online in the country in March.
The toll-free helpline, which operates 24 hours a day/7 days a week, all year round, is staffed by top doctors and can be translated into more than 200 languages.
Amanda Winters, Director of Problem Gaming for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) told the North Carolina State Lottery Commission at their meeting on Wednesday that the number of calls overall has increased by 79%. In particular, clinic calls, which are calls a person makes when seeking treatment or help, increased by 34%.
Other statistics include people going to treatment for gambling issues, up to 28%. Also, people who want to stop gambling on their phones or devices shot 82%, calls to a helpline were 104%, and participation in the NCDHHS Call to Change program, a program that aside that helps people go through the stages of change. , is 20% higher.
He said that while the call volume went up, calls related to the state lottery remained the same from Fiscal Year 2023 to Fiscal Year 2024.
Sixty-three percent of people called the hotline about kick-off tickets, ten percent about draw games, five percent about quick-play games, and four percent about about instant digital games.
Winters said 60% of the people who called the helpline who had problems with the lottery got the number on the back of the lottery ticket.
Another breakdown of where most of the calls came from revealed that New Hanover, Buncombe, and Johnston counties had the most non-lottery calls versus Guilford, Forsyth, and Durham who called specifically about the lottery.
Winters added that, unlike in previous years when the lottery was the main gambling option, sports betting took the lead this year, with calls up 88%. In 2003, 60 people spoke about it, as opposed to 155 this year. The average age of people calling the helpline for problem gambling is 35-55, but there was a 33% increase in people aged between 25 and 44 entering.
Sports betting and gambling are popular not only in North Carolina, but across the country.
Winters calculated that searches for gambling apps have increased by 18% in the past year, and nationally, 1/3 of gamblers report having taken out a particular gambling loan. in sports betting.
The NC Problem Gambling Program increased the grant budget for FY 2025 by 20%, prevention grants by 34%, treatment funding by nearly 150%, and research efforts by 85%. Total funding for the program increased from $1 million for FY 2024 to $3 million for FY 2025 for gambling addiction education and treatment programs.
He added that NCDHHS has partnered with East Carolina University (ECU) and Birches Health, a New Jersey mental health organization that provides statewide gambling addiction treatment, to pilot the first program. of your treatment model based on metrics to evaluate treatment and treatment management. outcome of those involved in treatment.
Winters said the partnership with ECU, which includes Dr. Michelle Malkin, director of the University’s Gambling Research and Policy Initiative, points out that Malkin’s research has revealed college students, including 12% of men and 6% of women, are at risk of gambling. issues, while 16% of student athletes compared to 8% of non-student athletes are at risk of developing or experiencing a problem.
He said the NCAA-sanctioned program run by Epic Risk Management that targets student-athletes at colleges and universities and has mentors who have shared their problems with gambling and how it has affected their careers shows said that more than 90% of students and 100% of employees feel. that they had a better awareness after the lesson to recognize dangerous gambling and feel confident that they can help others or seek help for themselves.
Winters said that according to a BetMGM spokesperson, approximately 48% of all bets based on the March Madness Tournament on the first day of the playoffs were placed on the UNC Tar Heels to win the tournament.
“So, we know that the UNC (Chapel Hill) show is popular, that’s why we partnered with Tar Heel Sports Communications, and they allowed us to carry the biggest messages in the game. money during the March Madness campaign,” he said. They focused on signs in the stadium, on social media and behind home plate. ”
The Problem Gambling Division also provides youth prevention and education grants to high-risk community centers. They have expanded their reach to all 7th grade health and PE classes in Charlotte Mecklenburg schools, reaching over 1,200 youth. In addition to 24 schools, they provided individual financial aid.
In recovery, they have a full-time peer support specialist at Sunrise Community Center in Asheville who leads their peer support specialist program.
The North Carolina Problem Gambling Program has partnered with the lottery since 2006 with a mandate to provide services related to gambling education and treatment.
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