The past several years have seen an explosion of gambling in Virginia, and it is poised to become a billion-dollar industry here next year. There are new legislative proposals to further expand gambling, like allowing Virginia residents to bet on local sports teams, legalizing so-called skill games, and building more casinos. Concurrently, spending on advertisements for gambling is surging. Reading the headlines, one would think gambling has been a huge success for Virginia.
Virginia Explained: The never-ending battle over skill games
But that’s because we don’t talk about the downsides of gambling.
Up to 6% of gamblers worldwide suffer from problem gambling, a diagnosable condition defined as…
