Legalized Sportsbooks Tied to More Searches for Gambling Addiction

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 19, 2025 (HealthDay News) — National increases in online searches for gambling addiction occurred after legalization of sportsbooks, according to a study published online Feb. 17 in JAMA Internal Medicine.

Atharva Yeola, from the University of California, San Diego, and colleagues assessed how U.S. sports betting evolved after the Murphy v National Collegiate Athletic Association U.S. Supreme Court decision. Aggregate U.S. internet search trends for gambling addiction and wagers on sports were compared before and after the emergence of legalized sportsbooks.

The researchers found that the number of states with operational sportsbooks increased from one in 2017 to 38 in 2024, while total sports wagers increased from $4.9 billion in 2017 to $121.1 billion during 2023. The vast majority of 2023 wagers (94 percent) were placed online. After the Supreme Court decision, there were 23 percent more searches nationally for gambling addiction help-seeking. After the opening of any sportsbooks, there were 47, 34, 37, and 50 percent more searches than expected in Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania, respectively. Opening of online sportsbooks corresponded with a larger increase in searches than retail openings.

“These findings emphasize the need for public health efforts to study and address the potential harms associated with the rapid growth of sports betting,” the authors write.

Two authors disclosed ties to the biotechnology and data analytics industries.

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