The US Supreme Court legalized online sports gambling in 2018, and now, almost 10 years later, we have plenty of research data to examine to see what trends and patterns have emerged. One recent study has found that gambling addiction has gone up significantly in states that allow online sports gambling, and actually gone down in states that prohibit online sports gambling. I have written about my own concerns in previous blogs, and my worries have grown even bigger as new research emerges. There is no net positive for legal sports gambling, but there has been a spike in both gambling addiction and corruption in sports. With all that we are learning with gambling addiction and witnessing with athletes in trouble around gambling-integrity concerns, when will leadership improve and begin to reverse previous gambling decisions? Or will sport leagues, and the NCAA, continue to ignore these issues until they are absolutely forced to do so?
Sports gambling has become a public health issue
Diagnoses of gambling disorder rose more than 60% since 2018 in states that have legalized sports betting, with the biggest increase among young men. One analysis found gambling diagnoses rising from 3 to almost 5% in states that legalized sports gambling, and as gambling becomes easier to do by means of smart phone betting, these statistics are almost sure to increase in the near future.
There is no net positive for legal sports gambling, but there has been a spike in both gambling addiction and corruption in sports.
You can’t watch a game today without constant betting odds scrolling across your screen, gambling commercials at every break, and even sports broadcasters offering their own takes on sports odds. As the list of new gambling addicts grow daily, the strain on communities becomes visible by means of bankruptcies, unhealthy marriages, and drug and alcohol abuse. Another reality: most states that have legalized sports gambling have not made comparative investments in gambling prevention or treatment.
With respect to athletes who gamble and sportsmanship, integrity, and flat-out breaking the law, the findings are very concerning. In just the last 2 years Jontay Porter (NBA), Tucupita Marcano (MLB), Pat Hoberg (MLB umpire!), Terry Rozier (NBA), and Brendan Sorsby (NCAA) have been caught and faced league consequences from their gambling actions, and these are just the ones who got caught. When sports leagues lose credibility because trust in fairness has been replaced by gambling addicts cheating to make a buck, what is left?
As of this moment, there does not appear to be any movement whatsoever as it applies to new laws, or even sports leagues tightening up standards to protect integrity and prevent corruption. Instead, we seem to be witnessing the opposite — more ads on television, more opportunities to bet, and more of a focus toward sports betting lines and away from the actual games.
Final thoughts
If there was any doubt that legal sports betting would be a major disruption to sport and society, we now have evidence of increases in both gambling addiction and sport ethics/corruption. As families experience the dark side of gambling addiction and leagues lose credibility by the day, when will better leadership step in and begin to right the ship? Or is this the beginning of a new age, where sports are just about gambling, regardless of the price to society — or their own leagues?
drstankovich.com
