{"id":34261,"date":"2023-07-11T14:35:56","date_gmt":"2023-07-11T18:35:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/news\/the-powerball-jackpot-is-now-725-million-but-this-man-warns-that-playing-the-lottery-can-become-an-addiction\/"},"modified":"2023-07-11T14:35:58","modified_gmt":"2023-07-11T18:35:58","slug":"the-powerball-jackpot-is-now-725-million-but-this-man-warns-that-playing-the-lottery-can-become-an-addiction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ifintechworld.com\/?p=34261","title":{"rendered":"The Powerball jackpot is now $725 million, but this man warns that playing the lottery can become an addiction"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

The Powerball jackpot has climbed to $725 million, with the next drawing set for Wednesday night. And the Mega Millions jackpot is not far behind at $480 million.<\/p>\n

But for Adam Osmond, any jackpot fervor only serves as a reminder of the dark side of lotteries.<\/p>\n

\n

Osmond, a Connecticut resident, gave up buying lottery tickets more than a decade ago after losing around $1 million on various games, be they scratch-offs or drawings. He told MarketWatch that his addiction cost him his business (he owned two gas stations), his home and nearly any semblance of a normal life.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you talk about hitting bottom, I hit the worst of bottom,\u201d said Osmond, who sought treatment for his addiction. Today, he works as an accountant for Connecticut\u2019s housing department and runs marathons and other races in his free time.<\/p>\n

Osmond\u2019s story may be an extreme one, but it\u2019s not entirely unique. Experts say that as state lotteries have surged in popularity \u2014 combined sales have grown from around $59 billion in 2010 to nearly $90 billion in 2020 \u2014 so have the number of Americans who are addicted to playing the games.<\/p>\n

The problem is only compounded when there\u2019s a big jackpot, experts add. Such events inevitably result in lots of news coverage and feed the idea that playing the lottery is a fun, safe pastime. And that\u2019s in spite of the fact the odds of winning the top Powerball prize is 1 in 292,201,338 and the odds of winning the top Mega Millions prize is 1 in 302,575,350, meaning you have a greater chance of becoming a movie star or being killed by a bee sting.<\/p>\n

As Americans are enticed to buy tickets with the possibility, however remote, of winning that life-changing sum, there\u2019s always the risk that some will become hooked on the lottery, say experts. And those who are already addicted may find themselves further incentivized to play.<\/p>\n

Overall, around 2 million U.S. adults have a severe addiction to gambling, while another 4 to 6 million have a mild or moderate problem, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling .<\/p>\n

The jackpot mania can also cause those in recovery from a gambling addiction to relapse, said Keith Whyte, executive director of the national council. Either way, he says, lottery fever is a destructive force.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt normalizes gambling,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Osmond\u2019s story speaks to how addiction can spiral out of control. Born in Somalia, Osmond moved to this country more than 35 years ago and attended college. He began playing the lottery sporadically \u2014 \u201cA dollar here or there,\u201d he said \u2014 but when he went into the gas-station business, he was able to buy tickets quickly and easily at the stores he owned, and his problems started.<\/p>\n

Osmond notes that he hit it big on more than one occasion, but that only fed his addiction. At some point around 15 years ago, he won a $50,000 prize on a drawing game. \u201cI put the whole thing back\u201d into more tickets, Osmond recalled. Naturally, he lost.<\/p>\n

Osmond credits running as being what saved him from gambling \u2014 it served as a way for him to channel his energy positively, he said. He has competed in more than 500 races, including several marathons. <\/p>\n

Perhaps the most troubling aspect of lotteries, Osmond said, is their popularity among the poor \u2014 meaning the people who can least afford to gamble. It\u2019s a point that has been cited in much research, with one study noting that those who earn less than $10,000 annually spend $597 (or about 6% of their income) on the lottery.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Osmond and others fear the problem won\u2019t go away easily, particularly because states are introducing more ways to play the lottery. Osmond considers himself fortunate in being able to break the cycle of his lottery addiction. And it\u2019s very much a cycle, he said: \u201cAnytime you lose, you want to keep playing to get your money back.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Read the full article here<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Powerball jackpot has climbed to $725 million, with the next drawing set for Wednesday night. And the Mega Millions jackpot is not far behind at $480 million. But for Adam Osmond, any jackpot fervor only serves as a reminder of the dark side of lotteries. Osmond, a Connecticut resident, gave up buying lottery tickets […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":34262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"gallery","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[236],"tags":[83],"class_list":["post-34261","post","type-post","status-publish","format-gallery","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-featured","post_format-post-format-gallery"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Powerball jackpot is now $725 million, but this man warns that playing the lottery can become an addiction | iFintechWorld<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Powerball jackpot has climbed to $725 million, with the next drawing set for Wednesday night. 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