Illinoisans bet $1 billion on sports for the first time in October, then did it again in November and December, state data shows… Around 5% of the clientele at Oak Park’s Way Back Inn addiction recovery center had problems with sports gambling before it was legalized. That rate has shot up to around 30%… Miller, of the Illinois Council on Problem Gambling, noted the state operates a 24/7 problem gambling help line. The help line received 1,283 calls during the fiscal year of 2020, 2,889 the following year, and 5,460 in the fiscal year of 2022, according to an IDHS spokesperson. From last July to December, which was the first half of fiscal year of 2023, it received 4,461 calls."