LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A portion of the annual tax revenue from the sports betting law will help in the battle against addiction.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear estimates sports betting will produce $23 million annually in tax revenue and licensing fees.
According to the sports betting law, 2.5% of that - or just over $570,000 a year - will go toward treating those whose lives have been plagued by gambling and preventing others from ever experiencing that pain.
For the first time, there will be a publicly funded program dedicated to getting resources to people who have become dependent on gambling.
Michael Stone, executive director of the Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling, predicts Kentucky "will see an increase in people who surface with a gambling problem" because of the influx of sports betting.
Dr. RonSonlyn Clark of Owensboro, who has worked with people struggling with gambling addiction for years, has seen wagering lead to people's families losing trust in them.
"It's a hopeless feeling. It's a desperation that things aren't going to get better," Clark said. "[But] in recovery, there is always hope. People can and do recover."
She's one of five certified gambling counselors across the state, two of whom are in Louisville.
"We're already a gambling state, and we see where the need already exists," Stone said.
The Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling is a nonprofit that's been raising awareness to the public health issue since the mid-90's.
Stone said more than 60,000 Kentuckians already show addictive gambling behavior -- and that's just with horse racing.
The need for more resources and available counselors grows now more than ever.
"There's only five in the state now, we probably need somewhere between 24 and 28," Stone said. Meanwhile, Clark told WHAS11 News they'd love to have more than 40 counselors in Kentucky.
WHAS11 News asked Stone if there are other safeguards that can or should be implemented.
He responded, "ceilings on how much you could wager."
Some suggestions for other safeguards include instituting daily betting limits and self-exclusion policies, where people can sign off to ban themselves from facilities or apps.
The Kentucky Council on Problem Gambling said the state would need anywhere from $1.2 to $1.4 million a year minimum to run a standard recovery program.
Given the current tax revenue projection, that would take about three years of sports betting to reach that number.
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