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Seven months after launching online sports betting, Vermont has debuted a responsible gaming website that provides resources for identifying and getting help for problem gambling.
The website is part of the state’s “Choose To Change Your Game” initiative and is a collaboration between the Department of Lottery and Liquor (DLL), which oversees online sports betting, and the Department of Mental Health.
According to the DLL and Department of Mental Health, an estimated 11,600 Vermont residents struggle with a gambling problem. On a national scale, an estimated two million adults have a gambling addiction and six million are at risk of developing a gambling addiction.
PlayUSA contacted the Department of Liquor and Lottery for comment about the new site but did not receive a response.
Key takeaways
- The Vermont Department of Liquor and Lottery and the Department of Mental Health have launched a responsible gaming website, “Choose to Change Your Game.”
- Approximately more than 11,000 Vermont residents struggle with problem gambling.
- The website provides resources for those with gambling problems or for those who want to learn more about what problem gambling is. It’s also a resource for professionals interested in broadening their understanding of how to identify and treat problem gambling.
Website provides simple yet important collection of resources
Vermont’s responsible gaming website provides basic yet vital resources for those who want to identify problem gambling or know they have a problem and need help.
Education
The site has a variety of educational materials about how to spot problem gambling, including a seven-point checklist of classic problem gambling behaviors, including:
- Lying to conceal the extent of gambling
- Relying on others for money to continue playing or to try to fix situations caused by gambling
- Gambling at risk of jeopardizing a relationship, job, or one’s finances
Self-exclusion
Those who know they have a gambling addiction can use the website to start the enrollment process for self-exclusion. Under a section explaining self-exclusion, the site has a “Get started” button that takes the user to the DLL’s official self-exclusion sign-up page.
There are four self-exclusion lengths: one year, three years, five years, or lifetime. Those who sign up for a lifetime self-exclusion cannot reverse the decision.
Chat support
Visitors to the website can connect with a trained advisor via chat to discuss problem gambling, whether it’s because of a gambling addiction they’re dealing with or for signs of problem gambling they see in a friend or loved one.
Additionally, the site provides links to gambling support communities in Vermont, nationwide, and online.
Professional training
While most problem gambling support sites provide services for gamblers, Vermont’s site takes it a step further and provides resources for mental health providers. Through the site, providers can sign up for provider-specific resources that sharpen how they identify, screen for, and treat gambling addictions.
Also, providers can register for a free training program that can fulfill up to 30 required continuing education units that providers must obtain at regular intervals.
Website will be invaluable if Vermont legalizes online casinos
Vermont launched online sports betting seven months ago. The state has three operators: FanDuel, DraftKings, and Fanatics. In May, Vermont sports betting had more than 27,000 active users, around 9,000 of which were out-of-state.
Online casinos are illegal in Vermont but, if lawmakers chose to legalize iGaming, Vermont could likely see far more users than what it gets from sports betting. Online casinos appeal to a wider audience than sports betting, and revenue numbers tend to be higher for online casinos in states where both are legal.
For example, in May, Pennsylvania’s sportsbooks generated $61.7 million in revenue. Online casinos brought in over $200 million in May 2024 PA gaming revenue for the fourth straight month.
If online casinos become legal in Vermont, it would lead to a significant increase in online gaming users. Such an increase would inevitably lead more gamblers to descend into addiction. This makes the “Choose to Change Your Game” campaign such a crucial first step in statewide problem gambling awareness.
