Gambling addiction has skyrocketed since the legalization of sports betting in most American states, with new research revealing.
Researchers discovered a “dramatic” increase in the aid of sports betting and gambling addiction as the 2018 landmark Murphy vs. NCAA Supreme Court decision paved the way the state legalizes sports gambling. did.
Since this ruling, researchers at the University of California San Diego Qualcomm Institute and the School of Medicine have found “amazing” growth in the sportsbook industry.
The number of states with operating sportsbooks rose from one in 2017 to 38 last year, but the total sports betting spiked from USD 4.9 billion in 2017 to USD 121.1 billion in 2023, and in 2023 94% are now online.
Senior research author, Professor John W. Ayers said: “The Supreme Court took the sportsbook (a venue where people can wager at various sports competitions) in Murphy vs. NCAA, with public health experts paying little attention.
“Currently, sportsbooks are expanding from a single state to 38 states, with hundreds of billions of bets being mostly online and record-breaking for help in The Gambling addiction This is consistent with the demand.
Co-author Matthew Allen, a third-grade medical student, said: “Sports betting is deeply embedded in our culture. “From merciless ads to social media feeds and in-game commentary, sportsbooks are everywhere now.
“What was once a taboo activity that was limited to social ties has been completely normalized,” Allen said.
The research team warns that trends are projected to grow as it invests in the industry in sportsbooks as a future of gambling, as evidenced by Caesars Entertainment's rebranding to Casars Sportsbook and Casino. did.
Co-author Dr. Kevin Yang said: “Despite gambling addiction as a perceived disorder of diagnostic and statistical manuals for mental disorders, it is largely overlooked in healthcare and public health without formal continuous monitoring.
“Without systemic surveillance, we're flying blindly while we bet on millions of sports.”
The research team analyzed Google's search trends from January 1, 2016 to the end of June last year for questions that mentioned gambling, addiction, addiction, anonymity, or hotlines.
Co-author Professor Davy Smith said:
“Analyzing search trends will provide real-time insight into the true scale of gambling addiction in the US.”
Alongside the growth of sportsbooks, internet searches seeking help with gambling addictions such as “being obsessed with gambling” have increased by 23% in the US since Murphy vs. NCAA until June 2024. did.
This corresponds to a search of approximately 65-7.3 million people seeking help in the US for gambling addiction help, according to a survey published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
With the state, the Sportsbook opening was consistently responding to increased demand for help from gambling addiction.
Sports in Illinois (35%), Massachusetts (47%), Michigan (37%), New Jersey (34%), New York (37%), Ohio (67%), Pennsylvania (50%), Virginia (30%) After the book was launched, it experienced a “significant” increase in gambling addiction-related searches.
“We are a great source of experience,” said Atharva Yeola, a student researcher at San Diego Qualcomm Institute, California.
“Statistically speaking, there is less than one in 25.6 billion people who have randomly occurring these results.”
The study found that online sportsbooks had a “substantially greater” impact on seeking help for gambling addiction than traditional brick-and-mortar stores.
For example, Pennsylvania's introduction of retail sportsbooks increased searches for gambling addiction help searches five months before online sportsbooks were launched by 33%.
When online sportsbooks became available, searches surged by 61%.
“This pattern highlights the amplification risks associated with the accessibility and convenience of online sports betting,” said Dr. Adam Polyac, an assistant professor of computer science at Bryn Mar College, Pennsylvania.
Co-author Nimit Desai, a third-grade medical student, said:
“Our findings are awakening calls for policymakers, health professionals and public health advocates to take action now.”
To reduce the risks posed by expanding sports betting, the research team created a set of recommendations.
These include increased funding for gambling addiction services using sportsbook tax revenues, ensuring accessible evidence-based treatment programs and limiting where products can be promoted and who can target them. We will tighten advertising regulations similar to those implemented for cigarettes and alcohol.
The team also sought stronger safeguards for online sportsbooks, including betting restrictions, age restrictions, in force breaks and restrictions on credit card use for gambling.
Professor Ayers added: “Sportbook regulations are lacking as the Supreme Court, not the legislator, have become legal.
“Congress must now act by passing common sense safeguards.
“History shows that unidentified industries, whether it's tobacco or opioids, do great harm before regulations catch up.
“We can either take aggressive steps to prevent gambling-related harms or repeat past mistakes and pay the price later.”
