Americans have lost a shocking $245billion on sports betting since the Supreme Court loosened restrictions on the industry in 2018, with experts fearing that gambling addiction has gripped the nation.
Gamblers used to be forced to travel to casinos Nevada, which was exempt from a national gambling ban, along with Delaware, Oregon and Montana.
But since the 1992 ban was lifted, the industry has become a high- growth tech business that saw more than $12billion in revenue in just 2022.
Sports betting is now legal, typically for adults aged 21 and over, in 34 states and Washing D.C. – and in 25 jurisdictions in the US gamblers can bet online. The industry has generated more than $3.4billion in tax revenue.
The U.S. has overtaken the U.K as the biggest regulated online gambling market in the world, and as the industry continues to grow, concerns are rising that addition to sports gambling could become a national crisis.
Americans have lost a shocking $245billion on sports betting since the Supreme Court loosened restrictions on the industry in 2018
Since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was struck down, 36 states and Washington DC have legalized sports betting, typically for adults aged 21 and over
The National Council on Problem Gambling’s helpline has seen its traffic increase by 21 percent when compared to last year, receiving more than 30,000 calls and texts in March, as reported by the Financial Times.
An alarming study conducted by New Jersey’s attorney general found that 6 percent of people surveyed in the state are problem gamblers and up to 20 per cent of citizens exhibit signs of problematic play.
SAFER GAMBLING TIPS
Treat betting as an entertainment expense
Gambling companies invest a lot of money in data to ensure that, over time, you’ll give them more money than they’ll give you. So if you do bet, think of it as part of the match expense, like paying for a TV subscription to watch the game.
Set a money limit in advance
Before you start betting, decide how much you can afford to lose and only bet with that. It can sometimes be hard to stick to a self-imposed limit, but setting a limit on the gambling company’s app or website can help.
Set a time limit in advance
It’s easy to lose track of time — and miss other life moments — when you’re gambling. Odds are the more time you spend gambling, the more money you will lose. Set a time limit or alarm, and when the time’s up, quit and do other things you enjoy.
Gamblers in Atlantic City, New Jersey
Walk away from your losses
Like your team, ‘you win some, you lose some’. If you’ve lost the money limit you’d set yourself, it’s time to walk away. Chasing your losses will usually just lead to bigger losses.
Be aware of how you’re feeling
Taking note of how you’re feeling before gambling can help you avoid ‘bet regret’.
Keep other entertainments in the mix
If gambling has become your only way to have fun, consider whether it might be starting to cause you problems. It can help to balance gambling with other things you enjoy.
Take frequent breaks
Gambling continuously can make it harder to keep track of time and perspective. Stepping out at regular intervals for some air or a bite to eat can help clear your head.
Be careful if you drink or do drugs
Drugs and alcohol can make it harder to stick to your limits. If you do drink or use drugs, tell a friend about your betting and limits, to help you stick to what you have decided.
The state was the first to approve sports betting and online gaming.
In Pennsylvania, researchers found that 36.7 percent of online gamblers admitted to observing at least one problematic element to their gambling habit in 2022.
The nation’s gambling industry is not currently subject to federal oversight. Instead, individual states oversee it – and consumer protections are low or nonexistent.
Twenty of the nation’s jurisdictions with regulated online sports betting don’t even have restrictions on betting with a credit card. Three of them don’t require operators to provide a tool for gamblers to self-limit depots or wager amounts or time spent gambling.
A Supreme Court decision in 2018 opened the door to legalizing the billions of dollars that Americans wagered illegally on professional and amateur sports each year — often through illicit bookies or offshore gambling houses.
Now, folks in states with legalized sports betting can try their luck with Caesars, WynnBET, BetRivers, DraftKings and other big sportsbooks that advertise prominently at games, on television and — controversially — on college campuses.
A 2021 study by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) showed that some 25.5 million adults had taken up sports and internet gambling since the law changed in 2018.
Legislators in at least nine states have moved to pass bills aimed at regulating the industry. They have offered measures such as cracking down on partnerships between colleges and betting companies.
DraftKings has been fined half a million dollars by Ohio regulators for their aggressive promotional strategies, which included describing bets as ‘risk-free’ and advertising to people under 21.
Caesars, BetMGM, DraftKings and FanDuel dominate the online casino and sports betting market.
This year’s record-setting 50.4 million Super Bowl bettors surpasses the 31.4 million Americans who wagered some $7.61 billion on last year’s clash between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals.
NCPG data suggest 6-8 million Americans have a gambling problem, which costs taxpayers $7 billion each year from the resulting bankruptcies, healthcare and criminal justice costs.
Former addicts and researchers say sports betting firms often target college students as they lure new users to cell phone betting apps that then hook them on roulette, slots, and other compulsive games.
‘Anything you stick on a phone that lets people drain their bank account in one evening is a bad idea,’ said Brian Hatch, 40, a recovered gambling addict based in Connecticut. ‘I think it’ll be the next opioid crisis.’
This year’s record-setting 50.4 million Super Bowl bettors surpasses the 31.4 million Americans who wagered some $7.61 billion on last year’s clash between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals.
Matt Zarb-Cousin, a recovered addict and entrepreneur, told DailyMail.com lower caps on the amount of money gamblers can lose in a session would help.
A 2021 study by the National Council on Problem Gambling showed that, since the law changed in 2018, the number of gamblers who lied about their addiction or felt restless or irritable when they were not having a flutter rose sharply
Brian Hatch, a recovered gambling addict based in Connecticut, urged regulators to protect cash-strapped gamblers, crack down on advertising, and curtail gambling on credit cards and direct money transfers from users’ banks to online casinos.
‘Anything you stick on a phone that lets people drain their bank account in one evening is a bad idea,’ he said.
BREAKING THE GAMBLING SPELL
Christina Cook was a ‘functioning gambler’ who held down a good job
Christina Cook, 44, an accountant from Tulsa, Oklahoma, gambled away $250,000 over 15 years on casino slot machines. At age 27, she started spending evenings at a newly-opened local casino because it was a safe, well-lit space to have a drink without the hassle of dive bars, and drop a few tokens in the slot machines. ‘It’s a way to be social, without being social,’ she said. ‘Slowly, you’re betting more and more, until I was losing my paycheck.’ Soon, she was on a ‘hamster wheel’ of gambling addiction, chasing the ‘dopamine high’ of the next win and trying to recoup losses, blowing as much as $3,000 in two hours on a bad night. ‘It’s a lonely addiction,’ she said. ‘I withdrew, isolated, lost friendships. I was borrowing money and not paying it back. My whole character shifted with the lying and manipulating.’ Though she was a ‘functioning addict’ who held down a steady job, Cook recognized her problem was out of hand. She placed her last bet in March 2021 and began a ‘journey of recovery,’ which includes helping other addicts through a blog and podcast.
Brian Hatch still recalls the pounding excitement of a slot machine’s ‘bonus round’
Brian Hatch, 40, an addiction counselor in Hartford, Connecticut, gambled away a six-figure sum on slot machines during his 14-year addiction. He started out feeling lucky from a blackjack win at a tribal casino in his native Michigan, but soon Hatch, then aged 18, was making the five-hour roundtrip journey instead of going to class. He switched to roulette, but was soon dead-eyed, dropping tokens into slot machines. ‘You win a little, it feels good. Then, all of a sudden, it’s about chasing that win,’ he said. At one point, he was working three jobs, 96-hours a week and taking out high-interest payday loans to get more ‘Monopoly money’ he could drop into machines. He had to move back in with his parents and cash in his 401K, but it wasn’t until he had to declare bankruptcy that Hatch fully realized he had to turn things around. He placed his last bet in Las Vegas in 2014 and then went cold turkey, but quickly realised he needed to talk through his gambling compulsions. He now helps other gambling addicts in private sessions and through a podcast and website.
Matt Zarb-Cousin says America can learn from Britain’s gambling misadventures
Matt Zarb-Cousin, 32, an entrepreneur from Southend, in Britain, gambled away about $25,000 on roulette betting machines over four years. He went to a local betting shop aged 16 to wager on a football match, but was quickly drawn to the ‘fixed odds betting terminals’ that are ubiquitous in UK gambling. ‘Once it’s captured you, then it’s all you can think about and the only pleasure or satisfaction you get is from gambling,’ he said. He used student loans, overdrafts, credit cards and his $700-per-month call center salary to feed his habit. At the end, he was pouring some $100 into the roulette machine every 20 seconds. He barely managed to graduate from the University of Birmingham, but was otherwise penniless, broken, and suicidal. Zarb-Cousin was lucky: his parents intervened, put him in therapy, and he eventually managed to break the habit. He started campaigning with Clean Up Gambling, and wants America to learn lessons from Britain’s poorly-regulated gambling market.