Sports betting companies like FanDuel and DraftKings have become ubiquitous, sponsoring major events and unleashing a blizzard of advertisements on social media and TV. “We have to take action now, but the problem is almost impossible to quantify.” “It’s this ticking time bomb,” said Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling.
Legal sports betting became available in five states and Washington, D.C., in 2020 - bringing the total number of sports betting states to 21 - at the same time as the Covid-19 pandemic sparked a sharp rise in online gambling of all forms as casinos closed and Americans hunkered down in their homes.ĭespite the proliferation of online gambling, in which large sums of money can be lost with a few clicks on a smartphone, federal and state governments still devote few resources to tracking and treating people with gambling problems, experts say. Sports betting surged after a 2018 Supreme Court decision paved the way for its legalization in states beyond Nevada. is in the midst of the largest and fastest expansion of legal gambling in the nation’s history.
