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As sports betting continues to rise since being legalized in the US, experts suggest not enough is being done to help those who may need support.
In 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sports betting would be legalized nationwide which has since caused a flurry of gambling activity within the States.
During a radio show on NPR, Cait Huble from the National Council on Problem Gambling spoke with a reporter about ongoing concerns.
“Gambling is several decades behind in terms of public opinion and recognition of it as a mental health condition,” the expert warns.
This comes during a month where Americans are estimated to legally wager $3 billion in the NCAA’s March Madness, according to the report. March also marks Problem Gambling Awareness Month.
Huble continues by stating that “there’s no federal funding for gambling addiction,” with funding for this varying significantly from state to state. Some, however, do put aside money into treatment and intervention measures.
‘We need to be doing the outreach and education early,’ expert says as US sports betting increases
Michelle Malkin, director of the Gambling Research & Policy Initiative at East Carolina University is also quoted within the piece suggesting more needs to be done.
“We don’t just need resources for the people who have gambling disorder. We need to be doing the outreach and education early.”
She goes on to warn that gambling is becoming a growing issue on college campuses: “When it comes to, like, inpatient, which people need for gambling, just like drugs and alcohol, there is less than five places in the whole country that specialize truly in gambling.”
With the figures around gambling and sports betting going up, the conversation around this appears to be becoming more prevalent. Earlier in March, the topic of sports betting and advertising even became the focus of a monologue by late-night talk show host John Oliver.
The comedian spoke out about how extensive advertising now is and even described tem as being ‘inescapable.’
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