Experts estimate that 1% of the US population has a severe gambling problem and another 2-3% have mild to moderate problems. It’s really not clear whether the popular growth of online sports betting will also make these estimates to elevate. This have been happened around for more than a decade.
But NCPG states an increase in people suffering problematic gambling attitudes between 2018. That was the time when legalized sports betting started to dominate across states, and 2021 – something they attribute primarily to legalization policies that were put into place in 2020.
Sports betting, in itself is not a problem. Here are some signs that it has become one- when you are doing it too much or if someone close to you does.
Running after the losses
In order to compensate for a big loss, they place more bets or risk taking even more debt. The end result is becoming even deeper in debt.
Loose control
They can’t set limits up that would keep them from spending a specific amount of time and money.
Lying
Problem gamblers who can’t or won’t stop gambling despite struggling with a persistent gambling problem may be lying about their spending on betting or their lack of time for other activities.
Experiencing job problems
Devoting too much of your time to online betting may detrimentally influence work performance and attendance at work.