problems and challenges in sports betting industry

The physiology of young adults, who are still a work in developmental progress, adds to the risk that sports betting will become problematic for them.

Young men in their twenties are considered the most vulnerable to problem gambling and the mental health complications that often accompany it. In Connecticut, for example, helpline calls jumped 91 percent in the first year after legalization in Massachusetts, calls are up 276 percent since 2020 in Ohio, which just opened the door to legal sports betting in January, calls to the state's problem gambling hotline tripled in the first month alone compared to the same period last year in the first year after Virginia legalized sports gambling, calls climbed 387 percent in Illinois, calls rose 425 percent between 20. That's troubling, but a Newsweek analysis of the available data in every state that has legalized sports gambling since the Supreme Court ruling shows an even more dramatic spike in pleas for help.

In 2021 (the most recent year for which data is available), calls to the helpline run by the National Council on Problem Gambling, a gaming industry supported group, rose 43 percent, while texts increased 59 percent and chats jumped 84 percent. It's a trend the experts believe may rapidly worsen, given what is known about the trajectory of compulsive gambling and the experience of countries that have had legal sports betting in place far longer than the U.S.Ĭalls to gambling helplines reflect the growing problem.

The result: record-breaking revenue for the betting companies, a tax windfall for states and, many experts believe, a sharp and troubling rise in the risk of serious gambling problems and addiction. Some 36 states have passed laws to allow gambling on sports, another eight are considering it and more than half of American adults-146 million people-now live in a live, legal sports-betting market. Since a Supreme Court ruling opened the door in 2018, legal sports betting has exploded in the U.S., fueled by easy access through online apps and expensive, star-studded ad campaigns for online sportsbooks.

Problems and challenges in sports betting industry