Sponsors
Introduced February 6, 2025 by Richard Blumenthal · Last progress February 6, 2025
The bill directs federal funding toward prevention, treatment, and research on gambling addiction—expanding services and planning stability for states—while raising federal costs and risking unequal access and delayed oversight for under-resourced states.
People with gambling addiction would gain access to state-funded treatment and prevention services through new SAMHSA grants, expanding care and support for those affected.
States that apply would receive predictable grant shares tied to existing block-grant allocation formulas, helping state governments plan and maintain program continuity.
Researchers would get dedicated federal funding to study gambling addiction, which could improve treatments and evidence-based practices over time.
Taxpayers could face substantial new federal spending tied to annual receipts through FY2025–FY2034, which may reduce funds available for other priorities.
States that fail to apply or lack administrative capacity could forfeit their share and, combined with tying grants to block-grant formulas, the policy may perpetuate or widen funding disparities across states, leaving some people with gambling addiction under-served.
Requiring an effectiveness report only after three years may delay detection and correction of ineffective programs, postponing improvements in services for those currently in need.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates SAMHSA grants to States and NIDA research grants for gambling addiction and authorizes FY2025–FY2034 funding tied to Treasury tax-receipt estimates.
Creates a federal grant program run by SAMHSA to fund State efforts to prevent and treat gambling addiction and authorizes NIDA-funded research on gambling addiction. It sets state allotments using the same ratios as SAMHSA's existing substance abuse block grant formula, allows a nonparticipating State's share to be redistributed to participating States, requires an HHS report on program effectiveness within three years, and authorizes funding for FY2025–FY2034 tied to percentages of the Treasury's prior-year tax receipt estimate.