The spread of legal gambling in the United States has been a boon to government coffers, created jobs, and given adults more entertainment options, but as with any yin, there is a yang.
According to a recent report, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania has seen an uptick in problem gambling, specifically online gaming, one indicator of which is a rise in calls to its gambler’s helpline over the past three years.
Key Highlights
- Problem gambling calls to Pennsylvania’s helpline have doubled.
- Young people (aged 21-30) are particularly vulnerable to gambling’s pitfalls.
- New federal bills aim to support gambling addiction treatment and implement stricter controls on gambling.
Online Gambling Calls Doubled
The Pennsylvania Interactive Gaming Assessment: Online Gambling Report 2023, developed by Penn State’s Criminal Justice Research Center and funded by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB), reported that of the calls to the state’s helpline, 20% were about online gambling problems in both 2021 and 2022.
That figure jumped to 34% in 2023.
While the total number of calls to the helpline increased from 2,401 to 2,834 from 2021/2022 to 2023, the number of calls specifically for online gambling more than doubled, from 479 to 974.
The Youngest Are the Most Online
Young people seem to be particularly vulnerable to gambling’s pitfalls. 46.6% of gamblers aged 21-30 played exclusively online, more than twice the rate of the 31-40 age group, which was 23% online exclusive.
The 21-30-year-old group also had the highest “dual-mode” rate – meaning they gambled both live (offline) and online – at 32.4%.
50.7% of dual-mode gamblers displayed at least one problem gambling indicator, compared to 40.7% of online-exclusive and 16.4% of offline-exclusive gamblers.
We look at most risk behaviors, and it does tend to peak among this younger age group. We’re looking at people with not necessarily fully developed prefrontal cortexes. It’s very easy to kind of fall into these things.”
-Gillian Russell, Assistant Research Professor at Penn State Abington
These indicators include preoccupation with gambling, borrowing money or selling something to get money to gamble, increasing the stakes to get the same feeling of excitement, and gambling longer than intended.
Gillian Russell, Assistant Research Professor at Penn State Abington and one of the four co-authors of the report, told City & State Pennsylvania,
“We look at most risk behaviors, and it does tend to peak among this younger age group. We’re looking at people with not necessarily fully developed prefrontal cortexes. It’s very easy to kind of fall into these things.”
Russell added that the growth of online gaming and sports betting isn’t bad in and of itself, as the activities certainly offer fun social opportunities and entertainment to most.
Still, there can be greater risks to young people, as they often live in an online world. It’s simply easier to hide the activity when using a phone than it is to hide other vices like drug or alcohol use.
Pennsylvania Offers Problem Gambling Resources
In addition to the toll-free helpline, Pennsylvania’s Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs provides resources on its website, such as a 24-hour chatline, links to problem gambling organizations, and contacts for treatment providers.
The state, like most, also has a self-exclusion program. People can exclude themselves from any or all of online gaming, fantasy sports, casino gambling, and video gaming terminals.
Ban periods for fantasy sports are between one and 99 years, while the other game types offer one-year, five-year, and lifetime exclusion periods.
Executive Director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania Josh Ercole told City & State that he would like to see the self-exclusion program become “opt-out” rather than “opt-in,” as it is now.
Requiring people to opt out of gambling-limiting programs would force them to be more aware of the options and resources that are available and would require them to take an extra step to gamble.
Action on Capitol Hill
Federal lawmakers have taken action this year to mitigate problem gambling in the US.
In January, Oregon US Representative Andrea Salinas and Connecticut US Senator Richard Blumenthal introduced the Gambling Addiction Recovery, Investment, and Treatment (GRIT) Act.
According to Rep. Salinas, it would be the “first-ever federal funding stream dedicated to helping prevent, treat, and study gambling addiction in the United States.”
The GRIT Act would take half of the current federal excise tax on sports betting and earmark it for gambling addiction treatment and research.
Three-quarters of it would go to the states, and 25% would go to the National Institute of Drug Abuse for research grants.
In March, New York US Representative Paul Tonko announced his intention to file the Supporting Affordability and Fairness with Every Bet Act (SAFE Bet Act).
The goal for the future bill would be to enact federal standards to curtail sportsbook advertising, prohibit operators from using AI to create games or track player habits, and improve affordability controls, including banning credit card deposits.
The GRIT Act is still only in a House subcommittee, while the SAFE Bet Act has yet to be introduced.
Sources
https://www.ddap.pa.gov/Documents/Agency%20Publications/2023%20Online%20Gambling%20Report.pdf
https://www.cityandstatepa.com/policy/2024/08/watchdogs-see-uptick-helpline-calls-sports-and-online-gambling-increase/399024/
https://www.ddap.pa.gov/Get%20Help%20Now/Pages/Problem-Gambling.aspx
