Colorado was an early adopter of sports gambling. Now it’s hedging the bet.” The state tallied nearly $6.45 billion in sports wagers over the past year, even as calls to addiction hotlines and gambling disorder diagnoses have surged, Westword reports. The rapid expansion of legal betting, once celebrated as a revenue boon, is drawing fresh scrutiny from public health officials who warn the industry’s growth has outpaced the state’s capacity to treat dependency. Despite millions in tax windfalls, treatment advocates are pressing lawmakers to mandate stronger responsible-gambling safeguards and fund expanded recovery services as the human cost of the boom becomes increasingly impossible to ignore.
Sources: Westword (Denver alt-weekly)
