View previous story from NBC4: Central Ohio treatment center to host open house for gambling addiction
Addiction counselors at Maryhaven spent their day Saturday bringing awareness and intervention for a growing addiction in Ohio – gambling.
Maryhaven has treated gambling addiction for years, but with sports gambling now legal in the state, it held an open house to address the issue.
Bruce Jones, the gambling intervention program coordinator for Maryhaven, said he’s been working with people with a gambling addiction for ten years. He calls it a “hidden disorder.”
“Family, parents, spouses don’t recognize it,” he said. “Can’t see it in your eyes, smell it on your breath, or see it in a urine screen. So by the time people come for help, the damage has been done.”
Jones said that according to a survey, the state projects around 100,000 people in central Ohio and about 250,000 statewide could be considered to have a gambling problem.
Do you believe you or a loved one has a gambling problem? Click here for a list of resources, or call the Ohio Problem Gambling Hotline at 1 (800) 589-9966. You can also contact Maryhaven via its website by clicking here.