GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – With record lottery jackpots this week, many are putting some money on the line to have a little fun, but experts say high jackpots can also bring out the worse in compulsive gamblers.
You can’t win if you don’t play, but if you play too hard, you may lose in more way than one. That’s the message from the Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling in Green Bay.
Rose Blozinski, Executive Director says it is more common than many think.
“It is important to know that in Wisconsin, approximately 5 to 7 percent of the population has some sort of a gambling problem.”
Blozinski says an early red flag that some people miss is the willingness to risk more money than you did the last time you gambled.
They have seen many examples of people who make life-changing decisions in hopes of bettering their chances of winning.
She says that can lead to people making some bad decisions.
“Spending all my money, I may be borrowing money to gamble and it becomes a vicious cycle.”
She adds that compulsive gambling has led to suicides and criminal activity.
“Don’t spend more than you can afford to lose. Use the money that is extra and don’t take your bill payment, don’t go taking money out of your savings account.”
Blozinski says it is more than just the risk of going broke.
She says compulsive gambling has led to suicides and 65 percent of compulsive gamblers commit some kind of crime to feed their gambling habit.
