He says it's just so easy now, 10 seconds away on his phone. Last October, as soon as Connecticut legalized sports gambling, Mike downloaded the FanDuel app and started betting. The man gives his name - Brown can't provide personal information, so let's call him Mike - and says he's in his early 20s. On this December day, Brown grabs her phone and answers with her standard greeting: 'Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling help line. Like other states that have rushed to legalize sports betting since the Supreme Court struck down a federal ban in May 2018, Connecticut is in the middle of giant spike in both the volume of calls and the number of callers who specifically mention sports gambling as a part of their problem. The incoming call is from someone who reached out to Connecticut's version of what many states now have, a toll-free help line for people who think they might have a gambling problem. She's hesitant to talk about herself, but she has the perfect blend of empathy and fierceness to deal with people struggling with addiction. As a little girl, she attended 12-step meetings with her dad as he tried to get sober (he did), and has seen the ravages of addiction elsewhere in her family, too. A licensed counselor for drug, alcohol and gambling addiction, she's a 14-year veteran working in addiction services, including the past five at the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling. 'CCPG HELPLINE,' it says.īrown, 36, is the exact person you want answering a problem gambling help line. In early December, her phone rings and shows a caller ID that sends her rushing to pick up as soon as humanly possible. The phone is always there - on the counter in front of her, on the couch beside her, even on the changing table if there's a new diaper necessary. KAITLIN BROWN'S WORK cellphone has an obscenely loud ringtone, and when it goes off during the day, it routinely startles her and her 2-year-old daughter, Emilia. Inside the life of a gambling help line worker

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