DES MOINES, Iowa — March Madness is typically a fun time of year: Iowans see their state represented on courts across the country, and fans get a chance to predict who will win it all. But amid the fun, there can be serious risks associated with gambling.
Your Life Iowa is a program through the Iowa Department of Public Health. This month, the program hopes to raise awareness for problem gambling in the state. Project manager for the Office of Gambling Katie Bee told Local 5 that, with March Madness approaching, their helpline has been busy.
"Here in Iowa over the last year, we have seen over 1,500 contacts have been made to your life by Iowa 1-800-BETS-OFF helpline, specific to gambling-related impacts," Bee told Local 5.
This upward trend in calls is not new. Tom Coat is the president of Consumer Credit Des Moines, which previously ran the the helpline back in the '90s when the sports gambling influx became apparent.
"It went from dozens of crisis calls a month to 300-400 crisis calls a month, by the time we stopped doing it in 2000," Coat said.
Back in 2018, Bee and the department collected data that showed 14% of Iowans — over 315,000 adults in total — were considered at-risk for developing a gambling related problem. As time passed, the risk only grew.
"According to the National Survey on Gambling Attitudes and Gambling Experiences (NGAGE), four out of five persons who bet on sports reported often needing to gamble to get more of the same feeling as the last bet that they made," Bee told Local 5.
The Iowa Department of Public Health's gambling department has hotlines, and other resources for those struggling are just a phone call away. If the bets you've lost have already hit your account, Coat said a team like his can help you get back on track.
"Our company helps get those payments down interest, which is in the 20%," Coat said. "We can oftentimes drop it into the single digits, we can get the debts paid of."
If you or a loved one is struggling with a gambling addiction, call 1-800-BETS-OFF at 1-800 238-7633.