Thumbs up, thumbs down

Thumbs down to an increase in problem gambling, a thoroughly predictable consequence of the state’s legalization of sports betting that has also led to an increase in state revenue. Connecticut has seen more than $45 million in revenue from online and in-person sports bets and online casino games since the expansion of gaming started last October. This was the promise of legalization, with the reasoning that people were going to place bets anyway, and so the state might as well get in business and make some money off it. At the same time, contacts with Connecticut’s problem-gambling hotline are up 134 percent since the launch of legalized sports betting and online gaming. This is also what happens when betting is as close as your phone. Officials must continue to make resources available for those in need.

Thumbs down toa shortage in athletic trainers that is putting high school athletes in jeopardy throughout Connecticut. While the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference recommends schools have full-time trainers to be available for games and practices, one survey suggests more than half of the state’s schools lack one. In an era when more focus is being placed on the perils of concussions on the field, the lack of trainers to address injuries appropriately can cascade into multiple problems. There are similar problems finding game officials and bus drivers, but this crisis is putting kids at risk.

Thumbs up to the World Series. No, it won’t have any local favorites, after the New York Mets and Yankees both fell short, but it’s still an annual tradition worth savoring. The Philadelphia Phillies finished in third place in their division, yet are still around thanks to the expanded playoff format. Fans who have dogged the Houston Astros as cheaters for their sign-stealing operation a few years ago should probably move on — all the team has done since that scandal is continue to win at prodigious rates, and is in the World Series yet again this year. It’s not what Connecticut fans might have wanted, but it still promises to be an exciting finale.

Thumbs down to wasting registrars’ time. This is the busiest time of year for local elected officials charged with running elections, but they are being hit with new claims that the state is rampant with election fraud. Countless studies and after-the-fact reporting has shown that isn’t the case. One group, despite having its fraud claims discounted, is now after local registrars to crack down on “deceased” voters, whose names may still appear on voter rolls. There is no evidence, however, that anyone is voting from beyond the grave. The effect could be the removal of eligible voters under flimsy pretenses, which can’t be allowed.

Thumbs down to the hoax threats that caused lockdowns in 10 communities throughout the state last week. It’s a trend that’s not limited to Connecticut, as similar incidents were reported in several other states in recent days. No one was injured, but these troubling incidents come as Connecticut nears the 10th anniversary of the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School. If that’s not disrespectful enough, law enforcement officials suggested they may also have been timed to coincide with the funerals for two slain Bristol officers that drew many police to East Hartford.