Seven years ago, only Nevada authorized Bet on sporting events.
After the United States Supreme Court in 2018 canceled the ban on sports gameSports betting has spread to all states except a dozen. But a new study links the proliferation of this type of bet to an increase in the number of people who could be dependent on the game.
A study Published Monday in internal medicine JAMA evaluated by peers brought back a leap of 23% of people looking for the sentence: “Am I addicted to the game?” Meanwhile, sports betting rushed from $ 4.9 billion in 2017 to 121.1 billion dollars in 2023. And most of these bets were on mobile applications or other online sites. The study said that 94% of sports betting in 2023 were online.
After the States legalized sports betting, the study said that research of dependence on the game increased at a higher pace than the researchers expect and that the pace is accelerating. Game aid research increased by 22% in 2022, 25% in 2023 and 31% in the first 6 months of 2024, according to John Ayers, principal and vice-chief of innovation at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.
Ayers and its co-authors make states often not prepared to manage the increase in sports betting. Although the game was a boon to state the tax boxes, most states devote rare resources to solve potential public health problems linked to the game disorder, the official name of the game dependence, said the study .
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“What are the hell do we do here?” said Ayers. “We have this huge involvement for health and no one is talking about it.”
Researchers and clinicians who did not participate in this study said that its main conclusion – that more people are looking for assistance in game dependence – corresponds to their experience.
“These results are not surprising for me,” said James Whelan, executive director of the Tennessee Institute for Gambling Education and Research. The study “shows a correlation and this correlation is real”.
The Whelan group operates three Tennessee clinics with a network of mental health specialists for people looking for help. Before the launch of online sports bookmakers in November 2020, the Tennesseans rarely asked for advice for sports betting. In the past two years, 55% at 60% of customers have been men who have cited sports betting as a type of main game, said Whelan.
Are states prepared for the problematic game?
While states generally regulate retail and online sports betting, legislators often pay less attention to potential public health damage, the study said.
Researchers have said that state legislatures should work with public health agencies to demand compulsory assessments to measure public health impacts when states allow or extend sports books.
In 2023, said that legalized sports betting budgeted on an average of $ 3.1 million for the game dependence services. The average was supported by the Massachusetts, which allocated $ 22.6 million for such assistance . The study said that 20 states reserved less than $ 400,000 for the game dependence, even if they have taken substantial tax revenues. The New Hampshire allocated about $ 100,000 to the prevention or treatment of the game in 2023 while receiving $ 36.4 million in sports betting tax revenue, the newspaper said.
“These states see signs in dollars. They simply take this money and put it in the general budget,” said Ayers. “They don’t really solve the problem of the principle here.”
Ayers said research traffic shows that people are looking for help.
The study quoted higher playing game searches than expected in Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia after the Supreme Court allowed Sports betting. Research traffic in these states has reached a peak search volume in 2024, “suggesting that research continues to increase after the opening of sportsbooks,” said the study.
Does the medical community neglect the game?
The study cited a potential “general blindness” on game research with only 59 studies on game dependence in a federal research database since the ban on sports betting was overthrown in 2018.
Last October, the International Lancet Public Health Commission of 22 Health and Politics Experts Warning of the risk of play in the era of easy online access.
Health professionals are also lacking in sufficient training on dependence on the game, said the study, adding that sports books are not generally regulated by health services and do not systematically report public health harm.
Whelan has recognized that understanding the medical dependency medical community has changed slowly. States generally finance support lines for people who are struggling with play, but resources for the treatment of dependence on the game do not compare themselves to other drug addiction disorders such as alcohol and dependence on ‘Opiode.
However, states are sponsoring more radio and television advertising for game aid lines, which could contribute to the growing research volume that the study discovered, Whelan said.
He also cited the overall embrace of the Paris sports community. Sports Talk Radio often discusses bets during segments. And sports sites for professional football, basketball, baseball and hockey regularly display advertisements for popular Paris sites.
“You are entering any arena or stadium in the country, and there is advertising for a sports book that is promoted by the team,” said Whelan. “If I am a sports fan, the game is now part.”
If you or someone you know with games of chance, call or send an SMS 1 to 800-Gamber, operated by the National Council on the problematic game.