Cecilia Dowd

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Feb 6, 2024, 6:52 PM

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Updated

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The Family and Children’s Association announced two new “Gambling Support and Wellness Centers” have opened to help people struggling with gambling problems.

The centers are located on Broadway in Hicksville and North Franklin Street in Hempstead.

Walk-ins are accepted at both locations.

With the expansion of sports betting, FCA President Jeffrey Reynolds said, “every single college kid out there has a casino that blinks, beeps and beckons in their back pocket, 24/7.”

Reynolds said in New York, it’s not known how many people are struggling with gambling issues because the last time a study was done was many years ago. He wants the state to do better.

Joseph Ruscillo used to gamble and is now in recovery.

He told News 12 that “people need to understand it’s a problem just like anything else.” He said centers like these are “important.”