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Verified by Psychology Today

[Lantie Elisabeth Jorandby M.D.+]

Lantie Elisabeth Jorandby M.D.

Use Your Brain

Compulsive Behaviors

Sports Betting Is Blowing Up

Gambling disorder is skyrocketing. Here’s what to know.

Posted May 3, 2024 | Reviewed by Tyler Woods

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THE BASICS

• What Is a Compulsive Behavior?
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Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on sports betting in May of 2018, 38 states and Washington, DC, now allow it?with more soon to follow.

States like the tax revenue it generates. In the third quarter of 2023 alone, for example, the state of New York took in $188 million.

The sports betting conglomerates like the ruling as well. As of August, 2023, the largest of these betting platforms?which will go unnamed here?was worth $31 billion.

Who are the losers in this new era of legalized sports betting? The thousands of Americans who are struggling every day with gambling disorder, a type of addiction that is surging throughout the U.S. because of the ease and omnipresence of sports betting.

You can place a bet anytime, from anywhere, on sports of all types, just by hitting a few buttons on your smartphone.

The new sports betting apps even allow you to place a bet by drawing money directly from your bank account.

Gambling addiction is real.

Once defined as an impulse control disorder, gambling disorder was reclassified in 2013 as a full-blown addiction disorder. Today, it remains the only behavioral or “process” addiction, rather than a chemical addiction that involves drugs or alcohol.

Experts define gambling disorder as an uncontrollable urge to keep gambling despite the