By rssfeeds-admin 
With the Fall Classic, college and pro football, and the NBA season underway, there are even more games for bettors to wager a few bucks this time of year.
But sports betting addiction experts say it’s the rush of making the right guesses that has bettors falling into a deep hole.
“Some of my friends are heavy sports bettors,” said Eric Smith, a moderate bettor himself.
“And I’d say that they’re all heavy, but they’re not heavy in the dollar amount, but a lot of times that can add up over time.”
The American Gaming Association’s annual report showed the sports betting industry posted a record $13.71 billion in revenue in 2024, nearly $3 billion dollars more than 2023’s record.
The organization’s leaders say sportsbooks won at a 9.3% rate nationally, and as more states move to legalize it, the more normal it becomes.
“You can’t be having biochemical dopamine surges in your brain all the time somewhere and still be engaged with other people in a healthy way. It just doesn’t work,” said Sal Guarino, one half of The Recovery Partners. “So I think those close-to-the-addicted person may not know quite what it is, but you kind of sense it.”
Data shows searches about gambling addiction surged 61% when online sportsbooks became available. Officials say that number has increased consistently over the years.
Guarino and partner Brian S. Alper have worked with people with gambling problems for years through their addiction recovery business. They say not every gambler has the same signs, but there are some commonalities.
“We talk about chasing money, chasing wins, chasing losses, but if one finds themselves chasing till their money is gone, or if they win, chasing that to try to win more, that is a very common characteristic of people who have a problem with gambling. It’s an inability to quit,” Alper said.
Their business helps people to put their lives back into perspective. They also help addicts look at the emotional damage caused by sports betting.
“Relationship, quality, interest, physical health, stress, mood, all those things. We get them to try and penetrate that and then help them stop or stay stopped,” Guarino said.
This week, several current and former NBA players were arrested in connection with fraudulent sports gambling.
“I grew up in Brooklyn and a lot of the things we’re seeing like the NBA incident have been going on for a long time,” Guarino said. “I think they get more visibility now because of the legalization, the advertising, the DraftKings and the FanDuels of the world, and also that the money is a little more trackable because they can see when there are hints of something illegal or incorrect going on in terms of so many people betting a certain way because there’s a fix.”
The Recovery Partners say the majority of bettors skew as young males.
“We kind of do know when somebody is in trouble,” Guarino said. “We may not know exactly what it is, but you’ll notice more isolation. You’ll notice more aloofness or detachment, preoccupation, watching more. And of course, they’ll be financial hints, if not bigger, that start to manifest.”
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