Andrea Salinas and Richard Blumenthal introduced the Gambling addiction Recovery, Investment, and Treatment Act, or GRIT Act, a bicameral bill that would create a dedicated federal funding stream for gambling addiction treatment, prevention and research.
In the lawmakers’ press release, the proposal is described as the first-ever federal funding stream devoted solely to preventing, treating and studying gambling addiction in the United States. The release said nearly 7 million Americans suffer from the disorder, with an annual social cost of $7 billion.
The bill would not raise taxes or create a new federal bureaucracy. Instead, it would draw on existing federal excise tax revenue and work through existing Health and Human Services programs and procedures.
A fact sheet for the measure says the federal government levies a 0.25% excise tax on sports wagers and sends that money to the general fund. The GRIT Act would set aside half of that revenue for gambling addiction work, with 75% of the set-aside distributed to states through the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant program and 25% sent to the National Institute on Drug Abuse for research grants.
The bill text says the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use would award grants to states, with allocations tied to the same formula used for federal substance-abuse block grants. It also says the National Institute on Drug Abuse director could award research grants, and the Health and Human Services secretary would have to report to Congress on the effectiveness of the programs within three years of enactment.
The fact sheet argues that the revenue base is already growing. It says federal sports gambling excise tax receipts rose from $38.7 million in fiscal 2020 to $110.7 million in fiscal 2021, and had reached $90.9 million by March 2022.
Salinas said there are currently no federal funds devoted solely to stopping problem gambling, unlike alcohol and drug addictions. Blumenthal said the spread of legal sports and online betting, along with the ability to place bets from a phone at any time, had created a “perfect storm” for addiction.
The measure drew backing from the National Council on Problem Gambling, the Oregon Council on Problem Gambling and the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling. Keith Whyte, the national council’s executive director, said investment in research, prevention and treatment was necessary to reduce harm nationwide, while state advocates said federal help was vital because gambling-related harm does not stop at state lines.
