We, the undersigned citizens of the state of Delaware are against any legislation that would allow sportsbetting to become legalized. We oppose sportsbetting for a large variety of reasons. Morally, gambling is wrong. The suicide attempt rate for pathological gamblers is one out of five. 65% of pathological gamblers commit crimes to support their addiction. The average rate of divorce for problem gamblers is nearly twice that of non-gamblers. Gambling affects principally the poor. Players with household incomes less that $10,000 bet nearly three times as much on lotteries as those with incomes over $50,000. There are 15 million people in America that show some form of gambling addiction. Sportsbetting is also opposed by the National Football League (NFL), the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). They realize sportsbetting can corrupt athletes and officials and can turn sporting events into gambling events. Religious leaders oppose gambling. Any money earned by the state from sportsbetting could never outweigh the pain and suffering that will occur to addicted gamblers and to their friends and families. Our state should not look to legitimize illegal activities for the sake of raising money. The gambling that has already been legalized in our state has not cured our money problems and neither will sportsbetting. The only jobs that will be created will be low end service jobs. As voters, we will be watching closely how this issue is handled. Please Governor Markell and all our Legislators: Cut pork barrel spending to balance our budget but do not legalize sportsbetting. Sincerely, The Undersigned

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