In 2018, the Supreme Court’s decision in Murphy v. National Collegiate Athletic Association overturned the federal ban on sports betting, allowing states to legalize and regulate it as they saw fit. What followed was an explosion of mobile betting platforms, turning gambling from an activity restricted to those who could enter a casino, into an around-the-clock temptation available to anyone with a smartphone.
The barrier to entry has been removed and anyone, anywhere, anytime, can place a bet. This isn’t just convenience; it’s a carefully designed trap that preys on impulsivity, making addiction easier to develop and harder to escape.
A person struggling with gambling addiction no longer needs to make a conscious decision to travel to a betting location — they can place wagers from their couch, their office or even their child’s soccer game. The gambling industry knows this, and it is exploiting this addiction for profit. Some state lawmakers have taken note of sports gambling’s negative effects and are proposing solutions.
In New Jersey, Senate President Nicholas Scutari recently introduced a bill that would create a gambling treatment diversion court, citing the fact that gambling expansion has created “unrestrained opportunity for persons with problem gambling or disordered gambling to become engulfed in destructive behaviors.”
The data backs up these concerns — The New York State Gaming Commission noted a 26% increase in problem gambling-related calls to the Office of Addiction Services and Supports from 2021 to 2022, the most recent period for which data has been released. The problem is growing, but with sports betting apps raking in billions, the industry has no incentive to slow down.
“The harms [of online gambling] tend to concentrate in the areas with the highest levels of poverty, and they also tend to concentrate among young men who are already at risk for all sorts of not-great financial decision making,” Charles Fain Lehman, a contributing editor of City Journal, stated. “And so it’s not just that gambling harm befalls some people, it’s that gambling harm often befalls the people who can least afford to have it come down on them.”
In addition to being harmful and targeting the financially vulnerable, an algorithm tailored to each user’s habits can drive them deeper into addiction.
Lehman wrote, “They know when you are watching the game, they know what you are doing and how much you are betting. And then what they can do is algorithmically reinforce that. They can make you offers, they can assign you a personal concierge who encourages you to bet more.”
If lawmakers are serious about addressing this growing crisis, they must go beyond just offering treatment options and begin raising awareness about the insidious nature of online sports betting.
Public education campaigns should make it clear that these apps use algorithms to keep users hooked and target those who can least afford to lose. Schools and community organizations should require financial literacy programs to educate young people about the dangers of mobile gambling before they fall into the trap.
Shining a light on these predatory tactics is the first step toward protecting consumers from an industry that profits from their downfall.
