Who knew that expanding online sports betting across the country would cause an increase in people getting addicted to gambling? Anyone? Anyone?
The numbers are in, and they don’t look good as thousands of gamblers, largely consisting of young men, are now gambling at rates previously unseen due to the rapid legalization and expansion of online sports betting sites throughout the country.
According to a recent study cited in a report from Breitbart, men between the ages of 18 and 24 are more likely to be gambling now than ever before.
Reporter Dylan Gwinn writes, “The nation has been captivated by the wave of sports betting legalization that has swept across the country in recent years.”
“Not surprisingly, the sports leagues themselves have also deluged fans with all the most up-to-date gambling info they need to help them place the most effective wagers.”
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For the sake of not getting sued, I won’t list any specific gambling sites who the finger can be pointed at in terms of contributing to the deluge of marketing across virtually every sporting event in the country.
But five seconds on any streaming service or sports network will probably flood you with ad after ad for more sports books and betting apps than you can keep track of.
The report claims that the “easy-access” to these gambling sites (now legal across 36 states) has spiked the number of new gamblers, some of whom are now addicted to this destructive activity.
Gwinn writes that online gambling makes “a special appeal to first-time gamblers by offering new customers credits and first-bet loss forgiveness.”
Features and assurances such as these are enough to get anyone already susceptible to this compulsive activity to jump in feet first.
Lia Nower, director of the Center for Gambling Studies at Rutgers University School of Social Work states that, “You can be gambling away your house on your mobile phone sitting at the dinner table, and not a single person will know until the devastation of your whole family is complete.”
One major study focusing on gambling trends in New Jersey from 2023 claims that “one-third of gamblers aged 18-24 made their wagers exclusively online.” That number is “five times higher” than the last major study which was conducted in 2017.
“The more people gamble, the more activities they gamble on,” Nower added. “And the younger they start, the more likely they are to develop problems with not only gambling itself but also mental health problems like depression, anxiety, and suicidality.”
What’s your take on this troubling discovery? Let us know in the comments below and across social media.
