CNN
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As the sports betting industry continues to rake in record revenues, more professional athletes are becoming embroiled in gambling scandals and gambling addiction hotlines are reporting an increase in calls and texts seeking help.
Earlier this month, Major League Baseball suspended San Diego Padres infielder Tucupita Marcano for betting on games. The National Basketball Association suspended Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter ahead of the 2024 playoffs for violating gambling rules. MLB also suspended four other players for one year.
These are the latest in a spate of gambling infractions among professional athletes in recent years since the U.S. Supreme Court paved the way for states to legalize sports betting in 2018. Leagues have historically opposed sports betting, but gambling has become increasingly ingrained in U.S. sports culture.
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“The prohibition against sports officials betting on major league games has been a fundamental principle for more than a century. It is clear that the privilege of playing baseball comes with the responsibility to refrain from certain conduct that is legal for others,” MLB Commissioner Robert Manfred said when Marcano’s suspension was announced.
While professional athletes deal with the effects of betting on their games, more people are struggling with mental health issues linked to sports betting. National problem gambling hotlines have reported a surge in call volumes in recent years. Text messages and chats to the National Problem Gambling Hotline have increased by nearly 800% since 2018, and call volume has increased by nearly 80%.
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The national helpline fielded about 359,000 calls and messages last year. But that figure doesn’t paint the whole picture of requests for assistance. The national helpline can’t determine what percentage of its traffic is related to sports betting. But state helplines saw similar increases after their states authorized sports betting.
For example, calls and messages to the New Jersey Council on Problem Gambling increased 277% from fiscal year 2018, when the state first legalized sports betting, to fiscal year 2022. The Ohio Problem Gambling Network recorded a 66% increase in call volume in 2023, the first year sports betting was legalized in the state.
According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, the annual social costs of gambling problems in the United States, including unemployment and gambling-related criminal justice costs, are approximately $14 billion. An estimated 2.5 million adults in the United States “meet the criteria for serious gambling problems in a given year.”
But as more people turn to help, the sports betting industry’s profits are soaring. According to the American Gaming Association, sports betting revenue will increase from $7.6 billion in 2022 to $11 billion in 2023. In the first quarter of this year alone, it will bring in $3.33 billion in revenue, a 22% annual increase over the first quarter of 2023.
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Prior to the Supreme Court decision, sports betting was legal only in Nevada.
According to the American Gaming Association, gamblers can currently legally bet on sports in 38 states and Washington, D.C.
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Advertisements for sports betting companies have proliferated in arenas and during broadcasts of games such as the Super Bowl, which feature celebrity sponsors and athletes. Leagues, franchises and networks have also begun partnering with betting companies. For example, NBA star LeBron James became a “talent ambassador” for popular digital sports betting company DraftKings earlier this year, and ESPN is launching an official sports betting platform in 2023.
The explosive growth of sports betting has also raised concerns about gambling and addiction. Despite signing a bill to legalize sports betting in Massachusetts in 2022, former Gov. Charlie Baker, now president of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, was reported to have said at a convention in the city this week that “I wish sports betting had stayed in Las Vegas.” In January, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and Rep. Andrea Salinas introduced the Gambling Addiction Recovery, Investment and Treatment Act, which would use federal funds to provide treatment and research for gambling addiction.