A Nation Addicted to Sports Gambling (Pt. 2)

As many as one in four Americans will place a bet on this year’s March Madness tournament. For some, it will be the first time they place a bet using a user-friendly, totally legal, app on their phone. Companies like FanDuel and DraftKings often run “risk-free” promotions for first-time bettors. What many first-time bettors don’t know is that these sportsbooks are “hiring MIT aerospace engineers to figure out how to get you to spend more.” And many individuals will fall prey to the temptation.

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Gambling as an addictive disorder

The American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5, the latest version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, reclassified pathological gambling from an impulse control disorder, in DSM-4, to the ‘substance-related and addictive disorder’ category. Psychologists today view gambling disorder as a diagnosis more akin to a substance-use disorder, like opioid addiction, than an impulsivity disorder, like kleptomania or pyromania. Similar to a high from a drug, the euphoria of hitting a bet and winning money manifests itself as a flood of dopamine to the reward pathways in the brain. This feeling is highly addictive, and a small population of people are more vulnerable to fall into its grips.

Studies show that the brains of frequent gamblers react similarly when exposed to images of gambling as to natural reward cues like food or sex. These findings mirror what other studies have shown regarding how user’s brains react to images of alcohol, cocaine, or cigarettes. It seems sports gambling companies understand the power of cues, as they have invested heavily in advertising to sports fans. Researchers at the University of Bristol found that some form of gambling advertisement was present for up to 38 percent of  NHL and NBA broadcasts. Considering the finding that exposure to gambling advertisements is tied to “higher than intended” gambling spending, the nearly ubiquitous gambling ads are particularly problematic.

Today, you can place a wager from your couch. Approximately 90 percent  of sports bets last year were placed through an online platform like FanDuel or DraftKings. In the past, proximity to gambling venues was a known risk factor for problematic levels of sports gambling. So, unsurprisingly, these levels have risen sharply along with the popularity of app-based gambling platforms. These apps are sleek, simple, and importantly, connected directly to your bank account. They send push notifications to your phone during games, offering the latest “live bet” odds – which are only available for a short time. Psychologists have shown that apps help people to feel more detached from real money.

The states which have permitted sports gambling are seeing decreases in residents’ savings, and increases in credit card debt and overdrafts compared to states where the activity is still illegal. Studies show that young men, as well as people living in lower-income communities, are more likely to report “problem gambling,” defined as wagering more than 10 percent of one’s income. A poll from St. Bonaventure University found that 48 percent of men aged 18-49 have an online sportsbook account. This could be connected to the fact that younger men are on average far more impulsive than their peers. This has created a circumstance where the individuals most prone to gambling addiction are the majority of the client base for sportsbooks today.

Clearly, something needs to be done.

Possible solutions

The long-term impact of widespread gambling is hard to know, but more protections could be put in place to prevent problem gambling. As the gambling industry grows, so too has its lobbying arm, which consistently pushes back against calls to reign in the industry. Policymakers willing to push back against the industry should look to science, and surprisingly, the history of tobacco regulation, to start the effort.

Since we know that younger men are more likely to fall prey to gambling addiction, regulators could consider raising the legal gambling age from 18 to 21.

• Raising the legal gambling age. Since we know that younger men are more likely to fall prey to gambling addiction, regulators could consider raising the legal gambling age from 18 to 21. Studies show that impulsivity tends to decline in the years following adolescence. Other countries have seen a reduction in gambling-related harms after raising the age minimum. Lawmakers in states like New Hampshire have already introduced measures that address this problem.
• Daily betting limits. It also might be worthwhile to place caps on the number of wagers a person can place in a day. In Norway and parts of Australia, the government offers pre-commitment schemes, which allow users to register spending caps for themselves before placing bets. Conversely, gambling companies collect data on which users are winning and losing bets. From time to time, they will offer free wagers to individuals who lose money in order to “hook [you] back in.” These sorts of tactics keep individuals betting more and should be targeted by regulators.
• Advertising restrictions. The federal government has a point of reference for regulating the advertisement of addictive products: tobacco. In the ‘90s, the federal government passed legislation which prevented tobacco and cigarette companies from advertising their product to children. The FDA also required cigarette companies to warn consumers of the addictive nature and potential harms of their products. Such requirements could easily be applied to gambling companies, and there is momentum to do so.

Conclusion

As discussed in Part 1 of this series, I think gambling on sports is really fun. But it is important for gamblers and policymakers alike to understand how this fun activity can negatively impact the physical, and financial, health of Americans. It is well past time for the government to reign in the sportsbook industry, at least in order to protect those most vulnerable to gambling addiction.

Part 1 of this 2-part series is here.

About the author

Spencer Andrews (J.D. 2026) is a student fellow with Petrie-Flom Center. He hails from small-town Indiana and worked for three years as a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) before attending law school. His background in neuroscience inspired him to dig deeper into the societal impacts of addiction and mental illness in the U.S.