RHEA COUNTY, Tenn. — Gambling experts tells us that a recent illegal gambling bust in our area is an opportunity for those struggling with addiction get help.

There are two forms of gambling that are legal in Tennessee. One is the lottery.

Executive director for Tennessee institute for gambling education and research, Jim Whelan says the second is online or remote sports wagering.

Dr. Whelan says, while legal gambling can be dangerous, unregulated gambling is on a whole other level.

That regulation helps create safeguards. It helps people know that the vendor that they’re dealing with here, the operator for the gambling offer, is legit, and they’re going to deal with them in a very honest, straightforward manner.

Whelan says gambling can be a slippery slope.

Gambling is a form of risk taking.

Whelan says people often realize there’s a problem when its to late.

We oftentimes can harm ourselves without fully understanding the process of that harm we find ourselves at the end of the day, the week, the year, and we suddenly realize, ‘Oh my gosh, I’ve lost all that money.’

Rhea County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) announced a coordinated effort to eliminate illegal gambling operations in the community.

In photos we obtained you can see deputies confiscating what they call “illegal gambling devices” in four separate locations “following numerous complaints”

We have people in our.. who come to our clinic with a gambling problem, and one of the vehicles they gamble with are machines in convenience stores.

It’s just the vehicle, and it’s available to people, and they don’t necessarily think of it as gambling.

RCSO says this isn’t the first issue they’ve seen with illegal gambling.

Over 20 years ago the department says they seized “numerous illegal poker machines across Rhea County.”

The question of accessibility to something is always an entrée into causing some potential problems if a person is not prepared for those problems or struggling in life, and it creates arms for them.

Whelan says this isn’t just hurting the people prone to gambling, but the loved ones as well.

It’s important for people to realize that when they are gambling in a way and experiencing harm that they’re actually harming, on average, 6 other people in their lives. And oftentimes, those six other people that they’re harming are the people who care about them the most.

If you or someone you know needs help with a gambling problem, Dr. Whelan says you can find resources by going to the gambling clinic.com.

He says they turn no one away for the inability to pay for those services.