A surprising study out of Canada concludes that health problems stemming from legalized sports betting are actually sending people to the emergency room.
Sports betting has been legalized throughout much of the U.S. and Canada — including Arkansas, where people wager tens of millions of dollars every every month via sportsbooks. But experts continue to sound the alarm over the toll that this type of gambling takes on people.
Writing in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, researchers found that emergency room visits for gambling disorders doubled after Canada liberalized its sports betting laws in 2022.
The study analyzed emergency department records for visits related to gambling disorders, and noted that many of the problem gamblers at the E.R. also appeared to suffer from major depression, substance abuse, or other serious problems. The increase in E.R. visits was primarily seen among boys and men ages 10-44, and about half the people who came to the emergency room because of a gambling disorder had to be hospitalized.
The study’s authors note that gambling disorders are associated with other serious conditions that may land a person in the emergency room, writing, “Clinically, gambling disorders are associated with a greater risk of anxiety and mood disorders, substance use disorders, increased suicidality, increased blood pressure, and premature mortality.”
This is not the first time experts have found surprising connections between sports betting and serious problems. Some studies have linked legal sports betting to increases in divorce, binge drinking, domestic violence, and violent crime.
Sports betting is closely associated with gambling disorders, and gambling disorders have very real consequences.
Sports betting is not a harmless pastime. It’s corrupting sports and ruining lives.
As powerful corporations try to make gambling part of everyday life, it’s important for Arkansas to protect citizens and families from predatory gambling. Otherwise, problem gambling will simply hurt more and more people in our state.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
