Is Sports Betting Increasing Problem Gambling? New Study Suggests So
Posted on: August 7, 2025, 09:54h.
Last updated on: August 7, 2025, 09:58h.
- Researchers in Massachusetts say sports betting is leading to increased problem gambling
- Participation rates in sports betting continue to climb, they say
- Many sports bettors report financial hardship because of their wagering
The quick spread of legal sports betting since May 2018 has made gambling mainstream and a more commonly accepted form of entertainment. But research suggests it’s also brought harm to those who are vulnerable to addiction.
Massachusetts is one of the 39 states where betting on sports is legal. The commonwealth is additionally among the 33 states that allow online wagers.
Researchers at the University of Massachusetts School of Public Health and Health Sciences say sports betting is presumably increasing gambling-related harms and rates of problem gambling. Founded after state lawmakers passed the Expanded Gaming Act in 2011 to permit land-based commercial casinos, UMASS’ Social and Economic Impacts of Gambling in Massachusetts, or SEIGMA, has been studying how new legal forms of gambling have impacted the Bay State.
In SEIGMA’s most recent report, the scholars present alarming evidence that certain trends are progressing in the wrong direction.
Problem Gambling, Participation Rise
SEIGMA’s report for 2024, presented to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission (MGC) last week, the state gaming regulatory agency that provides funding for the UMASS initiative, shed light on the fact that problem gambling rates are increasing.
SEIGMA researchers say the number of gamblers experiencing gambling-related harms, such as financial problems, has skyrocketed from 20.9% in 2022 to 28%. Along with struggles to pay bills, problem gamblers report relationship and family troubles.
Participation in sports betting during the same time spiked from 16.7% in 2022 to almost 33% last year. While betting with an illegal bookie has declined since 2022, as the public prefers a regulated, protected marketplace, about a quarter of monthly gamblers who took the SEIGMA survey reported encountering a financial problem because of their participation.
These indicators from the monthly gamblers in the online panels are not going in the right direction, which is definitely a concern when considering the impacts of legalized sports betting on the population at large,” said Dr. Rachel Volberg, SEIGMA’s principal investigator and a research professor at the UMASS School of Public Health and Health Sciences.
The data points in Massachusetts are likely similar in many other states where online sports betting is legal. The American Gaming Association (AGA) reports that sports bettors lost $6.5 billion between January and May 2025, a 13.% year-over-year increase.
Sports bettors lost a record $13.71 billion in 2024, which was a 25.4% increase on the then-record of $11.04 billion set in 2023.
Physical slots and table games also set an annual high at $49.78 billion. iGaming did, too, with revenue reaching $8.41 in only seven states — Connecticut, Delaware, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and West Virginia.
Some Good News
Last month, the National Council on Problem Gambling released a national survey that found risky gambling behavior observed during the COVID-19 pandemic “has eased.” However, the National Survey on Gambling Attitudes and Gambling Experiences shows that nearly 20 million American adults experienced “at least one problematic gambling behavior ‘many times’ in the past year.”
This research shows that the nationwide efforts in responsible gambling and public awareness are making a positive impact, but the work is far from over,” said Derek Longmeier, president of the NCPG Board of Directors.
“We must build on this momentum by embedding problem gambling into the broader public health infrastructure and investing in what we know works: collaboration across prevention, education, treatment, and research with the support of the government and communities,” Longmeier continued.
Last Comment ( 1 )
Gambling products are designed to be addictive, and gambling operators have continually refined these products for decades to make them as addictive as possible. As these products are used more widely, it is only logical that more people will become addicted to them. Eventually, even the "white coats" at the NCPG will be unable to continue suppressing this simple truth -- and then their work will finally be over.