Experts Call for Action to Address Problem Gambling

Gambling, ,

Public health experts are calling for more action to address problem gambling.

Last week the Lancet Public Health Commission published a report highlighting concerns over gambling’s impact on public health and calling for “stronger policy and regulatory controls” to protect individuals, and families.

The report notes, “Gambling can inflict substantial harm on individuals, families, and communities. Beyond the obvious danger of financial losses and financial ruin, these harms can include loss of employment, broken relationships, health effects, and crime-related impacts. Gambling can heighten the risk of suicidality and domestic violence.”

The public health commission’s report calls attention to the gambling industry’s “strong partnerships” with media and sports, which helps make gambling look like harmless entertainment while downplaying its risks.

The report urges governments and other organizations to protect people by enacting stricter regulations on advertising, mandating clearer information on risks associated with gambling, and establishing better support for those harmed by gambling.

Gambling has expanded drastically in the past few years — especially online and in the form of sports betting. It has become more accessible, and millions of people are now at risk of suffering as a result.

For families and communities, especially in places like Arkansas, this public health report is particularly timely. The Arkansas Problem Gambling Council has seen a 22% increase in calls for help with problem gambling this year — a spike largely driven by sports betting. In spite of these problems, Saracen Casino in Pine Bluff has been pushing for a rule change that would likely make things worse by allowing casino-style gambling statewide on any smart phone or mobile device.

As powerful corporations try to make gambling part of everyday life, the Lancet report is a reminder of just how important it is for our laws to protect children and families.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

READ MORE

Sports Betting is “Ruining Lives”

Gambling,

A growing body of evidence shows sports gambling is hurting Americans.

Writing in The Atlantic last week, Charles Fain Lehman said,

The evidence is convincing: The betting industry is ruining lives.

Over the weekend, millions of Americans watched football. They cheered, they ate, and—more than ever—they gambled. The American Gaming Association expects $35 billion in bets to be placed on NFL games in 2024, about one-third more than last year’s total.

If you follow sports, gambling is everywhere. Ads for it are all over broadcasts; more than one in three Americans now bets on sports, according to a Seton Hall poll. Before 2018, sports gambling was prohibited almost everywhere. Now it’s legal in 38 states and the District of Columbia, yielding $10 billion a year in revenue.

Readers may be quick to dismiss these developments as harmless. Many sports fans enjoy betting on the game, they say. Is it such a big deal if they do it with a company rather than their friends?

A growing body of social-science literature suggests that, yes, this is in fact quite different. The rise of sports gambling has caused a wave of financial and familial misery, one that falls disproportionately on the most economically precarious households. Six years into the experiment, the evidence is convincing: Legalizing sports gambling was a huge mistake.

Lehman is not alone. Research is making it clear that sports gambling is anything but a good bet.

Studies indicate people who gamble on sports may be twice as likely to suffer from gambling problems.

Young men are particularly hurt by sports gambling. Twenty-year-old males account for approximately 40% of calls to gambling addiction hotlines. Upwards of 20 million men are in debt or have been in debt as a result of sports betting.

And the Arkansas Problem Gambling Council says it has seen a 22% increase in calls for help with problem gambling — a spike largely driven by sports betting.

Sports betting is out of hand, and some gambling companies have actually produced ads that seem to promote problem-gambling behavior — like commercials that show people so fixated on sports betting that they ignore everyone else around them or ads encouraging people to take every opportunity to gamble.

In light of all of this, it seems accurate to say that sports gambling is “ruining lives.”

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

READ MORE