Super Bowl Sunday means a spread of chips and dip in front of a TV and a chance to see if Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs can capture a third NFL title in a row.

But for Rose Blozinski and the Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling, the most-watched sporting event of the year means more calls to the council’s hotline for people struggling with addiction. March is likely to be even worse — that month is typically the hotline’s busiest, with the NCAA men’s basketball tournament on the horizon.

Wisconsin has more limits on legalized sports betting than most states but has seen an increase in most forms of gambling in recent years. At the same time, the amount of state money spent to address gambling addiction has barely moved.

Every year, the council receives a roughly $400,000 grant from the state to maintain a hotline for problem gamblers, train counselors on treating the addiction and help young people understand the risks associated with betting in a casino or a sportsbook.

“We make do with what we have, and we’re very, very thankful for it,” Blozinski said. “Especially when you’re dealing with public awareness, you could always use more money. There’s always more things we could do.”

Wisconsin spends about a dime per resident fighting gambling addiction, according to data compiled by the National Association for Administrators of Disordered Gambling Services. Of the 36 states that spend public money on problem gambling, Wisconsin is tied with six other states for last place per capita.

And the state spends none of that money directly on treating people with addiction, despite cost and access barriers that can make it hard when problem gamblers are ready to get more support.

Over 232,000 Wisconsinites struggle with a gambling problem, according to estimates from the state Department of Health Services. Their average debt is $45,000.

Gambling in casinos, lottery on the rise

In less than a decade, state records show, sales of lottery tickets have risen from $574 million to nearly $1 billion in Wisconsin. That creates hundreds of millions of dollars in tax relief for residents.

The state Constitution bars most types of gambling, including casinos, unless they are offered by a federally recognized tribe. But revenues at tribal casinos have set records. In 2023, the most recent year data is available, proceeds topped $1.3 billion.

At least three Wisconsin tribal casinos have also opened in-person sportsbooks — and border states Illinois, Iowa and Michigan have legalized app-based sports betting, which remains illegal in Wisconsin. Minnesota is poised to potentially join them this year.

Demand for the Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling hotline has fluctuated, Blozinski said. In 2024, over 14,000 Wisconsinites placed a call seeking help. That marks a slight decline from recent years, when calls peaked during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period widely considered to worsen many forms of addiction.

Data from the Maryland Center of Excellence on Problem Gambling found those with gambling disorders have a suicide rate five to 10 times that of the general population. Research also indicates that those with a gambling addiction can have their sense of winning distorted, meaning they often chase their losses to try to come out on top.

“They have spent so much time hiding it from themselves,” said Patricia Jirovetz, a counselor in Oshkosh who treats people with gambling addiction. “It takes a while, first of all, to build trust, and then to be totally honest about how much money they’ve spent, how much in debt they are in, who … they owe money to.”

Funding for treatment, awareness lags demand

In Wisconsin, the Council on Problem Gambling is the primary organization generating awareness on gambling addiction. The Green Bay-based nonprofit had a budget of around $500,000 in 2023, according to tax forms filed with the Internal Revenue Service. That included fundraisers and grants from casino operators, but the bulk of the money came from a $396,000 contract with the state, paid for by proceeds from the Wisconsin Lottery.

That amount has not changed in years, according to the National Association for Administrators of Disordered Gambling Services. Wisconsin spends 32 times less per capita than Massachusetts, which spends the most public money addressing gambling addiction nationally.

Some states, such as Nebraska, pay for addiction treatment for anyone who calls the hotline seeking help. In Wisconsin, a person has to rely on private insurance or pay the costs out of pocket — a real problem for gamblers who are destitute.

“They’ve lost everything,” Blozinski said. “They borrowed from everybody. They’ve maxed out lots of credit cards. They may have gone bankrupt. They may have done illegal things to get money to gamble. So by the time they start saying ‘Oh, maybe I have a problem’ nobody’s going to borrow money to go to treatment, nobody’s going to help them.”

Blozinski said the council’s state aid doesn’t account for all the spending. The Wisconsin Lottery, she said, pays for a radio and print advertising campaign every year.

But counselors and advocates for problem gambling awareness say funding for treatment would be a huge help. For Wisconsin, those services can be especially hard to access and expensive because the nearest inpatient treatment facilities are in Illinois and Minnesota.

In 2024, the Council on Problem Gambling trained 101 counselors on how to treat and address gambling addiction on an outpatient basis. Still, Blozinski said, the state “absolutely” does not have enough licensed counselors focusing on gambling addictions.

“The more populated areas, the Fox Valley, Milwaukee, Madison, we have a number of counselors,” Jirovetz said. “But you get into some of the more northern counties and it’s a little bit harder.”

Across Wisconsin there are 39 meetings each week of the peer support group Gamblers Anonymous. Alcoholics Anonymous chapters can have over 60 meetings each day in south central Wisconsin alone.

Blozinski said her goal is to convey to people that help is available. But often people misunderstand the nature of the addiction, she said.

“Gambling is still a little bit behind all the other addictions,” Blozinski said. “You know, it’s a hard one for people to understand, because nothing’s being ingested. You know, there’s no way to really see what’s going on. I could be gambling on my phone next to you and you really wouldn’t have a clue.”

“There just aren’t the resources. People just don’t understand. They say ‘well, just stop.’ Well, any addiction you can’t just stop. It doesn’t work that way.”