As sports betting soars, more people search online for help with gambling addiction
Following the 2018 Supreme Court decision in Murphy v. NCAA, which allowed states to legalize sports betting, there has been a significant increase in gambling activities across the United States. A study by the University of California San Diego Qualcomm Institute and School of Medicine found that by 2023, 38 states had operational sportsbooks, with total sports wagers escalating from $4.9 billion in 2017 to $121.1 billion. Notably, 94% of these wagers were placed online. This expansion has coincided with a 23% rise in online searches related to gambling addiction, translating to approximately 6.5 to 7.3 million searches, peaking at 180,000 monthly. States such as Illinois, Massachusetts, and Ohio experienced significant increases in addiction-related searches following the legalization of sportsbooks. The study emphasizes the urgent need for regulatory measures, including increased funding for addiction services, stricter advertising regulations, and enhanced safeguards for online betting platforms, to address the growing public health concerns associated with the proliferation of online sports betting.
