# Plain Language Summary: Gambling Addiction Recovery, Investment, and Treatment Act

This bill creates a new federal funding program specifically designed to help states tackle gambling addiction. The federal government would distribute money to every state based on a formula that looks at how much federal substance abuse funding each state already receives. States could then use this money to develop and run programs that help people struggling with gambling problems—things like counseling services, support groups, treatment facilities, or prevention education. If a state doesn't apply for the funding, that money gets redistributed to states that do apply, so the available resources don't go unused.

The bill also directs the National Institute on Drug Abuse to fund research projects focused on understanding gambling addiction better. This research could help scientists figure out what causes gambling addiction, who's most at risk, and what treatments work best. Three years after the law takes effect, the federal government would have to report back to Congress about whether these programs and research efforts are actually helping people recover from gambling addiction.

The funding for this program would come from federal taxes on gambling—specifically, 37.5 percent of the taxes collected on bets and wagers would go to state treatment programs, and 12.5 percent would support the research efforts. This funding would be available for ten years, from 2025 through 2034. Essentially, the bill takes money generated by gambling itself and redirects it toward helping people who've developed addiction problems, creating a dedicated funding stream for treatment and research that didn't exist before.

Gambling Addiction Recovery, Investment, and Treatment Act

Salinas, Andrea

Gambling Addiction Recovery, Investment, and Treatment ActThis bill requires the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to provide grants to states to address gambling addiction, and authorizes the National Institute on Drug Abuse to provide grants for research on gambling addiction.The&nbsp;bill authorizes appropriations for&nbsp;the grant programs through FY2034 from a portion&nbsp;of the revenue from the federal excise tax on state-authorized wagers (e.g., state-authorized sports betting).Additionally,&nbsp;SAMHSA must allocate its grants for addressing gambling addiction among the states in the same ratios as grants under the&nbsp;Substance Use Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Services Block Grant program. The bill also requires a report to Congress on the effectiveness of the programs established by the bill.&nbsp;