Saul Malek always liked the thrill of gambling.

A scratch-off lottery ticket, a trip to the racetrack, a few wins at his school’s casino night, some casino-style apps on his smartphone.

And he always liked sports, enough to start a fantasy baseball league in middle school.

In college, a friend introduced him to a bookie, and he won his first small bet on a baseball game.

“When I saw my bet was winning, which was like 10 bucks, and I felt probably better about myself than I’d ever felt before from that one experience,” Malek said during an interview with WRAL earlier this month.

That weekend in 2017, he won a football bet. Suddenly, he had his thing, something to set him apart from other members of his fraternity, something to help him stand out.

“I saw it is not only a way to make money, which is what I firmly believed I would do with that, but also as a way to be better than my peers in college,” said Malek, 25.

Those feelings — of joy, of superiority — were soon replaced. During the next two years, sports gambling overwhelmed Malek’s life in many ways.

Now as North Carolina is on the verge of legalizing online sports betting, he’s speaking out in hopes that his own story can serve as a warning to others. Studies show gambling addiction has been on the rise nationwide, mostly affecting young men.

Malek certainly was impacted. He placed bets overnight, woke up in the early hours to see if he’d won and placed more bets.

Gambling impacted his sleep, his school work, his study habits, his relationships with friends and family. He ran through bookies — people who take bets from gamblers — and often searched for more immediate thrills.

“I started by being able to bet on full games and then literally my mind, that compulsion of it, could not handle that anymore,” Malek said. “I needed the action to be quicker. So I bet on individual innings or tennis points, tennis.”

He was betting 150 times a week. Then the losses began to pile up.

“I was placing so many bets that there was no way I was gonna be able to win every Croatian volleyball match that came my way,” Malek said. “It’s not possible.”

‘Immediate, instant access’

Malek is not alone. There has been a 30% increase in the risk for gambling problems nationwide since 2018, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling. Young men who bet sports online make up the majority of the increase. A landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2018 opened the door for states to legalize sports gambling.

And states have been rushing to do so.

Kentucky this week became the 37th state to legalize sports gambling, allowing both retail and online sports betting. North Carolina is among those 37 as sports gambling is legal in-person at three tribal casinos. More than two dozen states allow online betting from your phone or other electronic device.

North Carolina could soon join that list.

House lawmakers passed a bill this week to legalize online sports gambling on professional, college, electronic and amateur/Olympic sports through up to 12 licensed operators. Betting on youth sports, including high school sports, is not prohibited under the legislation.

The Senate, which passed similar legislation during last session, is expected to take up the bill soon. Gov. Roy Cooper is supportive. If passed, bets could be placed from within North Carolina beginning Jan. 8.

“This is the largest and fastest expansion of gambling in our nation’s history,” said Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling.

And it comes at a time, not coincidentally, when technological advances allow for on-demand access to information, betting lines and wagers.

“One of the reasons we believe online sports betting and online sports gambling is associated with higher risks is the addictive, the 1-to-1 relationship people have with their phone,” Whyte said. “Immediate, instant access to 24-hour gambling.”

‘Regulate the market’

March, especially around the Triangle, means the NCAA Tournament, a basketball extravaganza that has many participating in office pools or small money brackets with their co-workers and friends. It is also Problem Gambling Awareness Month.

North Carolina’s sports wagering bill (House Bill 347) allocates $2 million annually to the state Department of Health and Human Services for gambling addiction education and treatment programs. The current budget for the North Carolina Problem Gambling Program is $1 million and it has one full-time employee.

“For the overwhelming majority of people, sports betting is a form of entertainment, something that consenting adults with their own money should have the right to do,” said Rep. Jason Saine, a Lincoln County Republican and the bill’s top backer. “The moral thing and the smart thing is to regulate this market and give people who need problem gambling support the help and resources they need.”

Malek did not wager through legal operators or apps. Saine said offshore operators or bookies don’t offer the same protections for customers, including those who may be dealing with addiction problems.

“They don’t have consumer protections,” Saine said. “They don’t check your age. They don’t guarantee you’ll get your money when it’s time to withdraw. They certainly don’t care about gambling addiction.”

The legal operators offer users the option to place limits on deposits, amount bet and number of bets. Users can place their account on a “timeout.” Operators are required to include hotline numbers or websites on every advertisement.

That’s not enough, critics say.

“Gambling is as addictive as opioids,” said Rep. Marcia Morey, a Durham County Democrat and former U.S. Olympic swimmer.

The latest edition of the Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders, seen as the authoritative guide to the diagnosis of mental disorders, says problem gambling is similar to substance addictions.

Opponents are warning of increases in crime, theft, embezzlement, domestic abuse, job loss and, even, suicide if the state legalizes mobile sports gambling. Malek said his conversations with friends or family often ended with him asking them for money or a new bookie.

“I’ve yet to encounter an honest active gambler,” Malek said. “Because just the nature of the addiction, you have to lie to get new credit or to hide it from people close to you.”

Up to half of problem gamblers have considered taking their own life and 17% have attempted suicide, according to the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling. The organization notes that the vast majority of problem gamblers who have considered suicide have recovered to lead healthy lives.

Malek entered a recovery program and hasn’t placed a bet since late summer 2019. He’s now in graduate school studying to become a mental health counselor and wants to work in addiction counseling. He’s also working on a campus as a spiritual life mentor and doing public speaking.

“I always try and clarify that it’s not over for me. I mean, I don’t have the intention of going to gamble again,” Malek said. “But who knows? It’s really so easy.”

Malek said he has found that having a program and a support team around him has worked.

“People really love to look at the finances of it,” he said. “And it is important. But that stuff usually seems to come back pretty quickly when you have a job and you stop. It’s really the time that’s lost with family and the emotional damage that some people never would repair and could take years.

“That’s where a lot of people don’t see it because you can report on all the money that’s lost, but that doesn’t paint a picture of overall the damage that can be done with this.”

If you or someone you know is worried about problem gambling, more information can be accessed at Morethanagame.nc.gov or by calling the no-cost, no-judgment 24/7 helpline at 877-718-5543.