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MONDAY, Feb. 17, 2025 (HealthDay News) -- Millions of Americans have sought help for gambling addiction in the wake of a 2018 U.S. Supreme Court decision that allowed states to legalize sports betting.

That's among the key findings in a published Feb. 17 in听JAMA Internal Medicine.听

69制片厂制作传媒淪portsbooks have expanded from a single state to 38 states, with hundreds of billions of wagers, mostly online, coinciding with record-breaking demand for help with gambling addiction as millions seek help,69制片厂制作传媒� study senior author said in a news release. He's deputy director of informatics at the University of California San Diego Altman Clinical and Translational Research Institute and a scientist at UCSD's Qualcomm Institute.听

His team reported that sports wagers rose from $4.9 billion in 2017 to $121.1 billion in 2023. Almost all of these bets -- 94% -- are now placed online.

69制片厂制作传媒淪ports betting has become deeply embedded in our culture,69制片厂制作传媒� said study co-author , a third-year medical student.听

69制片厂制作传媒淔rom relentless advertising to social media feeds and in-game commentary, sportsbooks are now everywhere," he added in a news release. "What was once a taboo activity, confined to the fringes of society, has been completely normalized.69制片厂制作传媒�

The researchers noted that major industry shifts, including the rebranding of Caesars Entertainment as Caesars Sportsbook and Casino, signal that sports betting (sportsbooks) is being positioned as the future of gambling.

For the study, they combed through Google search data from 2016 to 2024, looking for queries that mentioned gambling, addiction, addict or anonymous hotline.听

Since the 2018 Supreme Court ruling, such queries jumped 23%, the study found. That translated to an estimated 6.5 million to 7.3 million searches nationwide for gambling addiction help.听

Queries also rose in states that opened sportsbooks -- Illinois (35%), Massachusetts (47%), Michigan (37%), New Jersey (34%), New York (37%), Ohio (67%), Pennsylvania (50%) and Virginia (30%).

69制片厂制作传媒淭he significantly higher search volumes observed in all eight states make it virtually impossible that our findings occurred by chance,69制片厂制作传媒� said study co-author , a student researcher at the Qualcomm Institute.听

69制片厂制作传媒淪tatistically speaking, the probability of these results happening randomly is less than one in 25.6 billion,69制片厂制作传媒� he added in a news release.

The study also found that online sports betting appears to pose an even greater risk than in-person sportsbooks.

For example, in Pennsylvania, the launch of retail sportsbooks resulted in a 33% increase in gambling addiction help-seeking searches.

When online sportsbooks became available, searches surged 61% 69制片厂制作传媒� a significantly greater and more sustained increase that persisted for years.

69制片厂制作传媒淭his pattern highlights the amplified risks associated with the accessibility and convenience of online sports betting,69制片厂制作传媒� said study co-author , an assistant professor of computer science at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania.

Researchers called for stronger safeguards against gambling, including:

• Using sportsbook tax revenues to boost funding for gambling addiction services.

• Stricter advertising regulations, similar to those for tobacco and alcohol.

• Clinical training programs to help healthcare professionals diagnose and treat gambling addiction.

• Stronger safeguards for online sportsbooks, such as betting limits, age restrictions and restrictions on credit card use for gambling.

• Expanded public awareness campaigns to reduce stigma and encourage early intervention.

69制片厂制作传媒淒espite gambling addiction as a recognized disorder in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, it remains largely overlooked in healthcare and public health with no formal ongoing surveillance,69制片厂制作传媒� co-author , a third-year resident physician at UC San Diego Health, said in a news release. 69制片厂制作传媒淲ithout systematic surveillance, we are flying blind while millions bet on sports.69制片厂制作传媒澨�

Lead author Ayers concluded by calling for urgent legislative action.听

69制片厂制作传媒淪portsbook regulations are lacking because the Supreme Court, not legislators, legalized them,69制片厂制作传媒� he said. 69制片厂制作传媒淐ongress must act now by passing commonsense safeguards."

"History has shown that unchecked industries -- whether tobacco or opioids -- inflict immense harm before regulations catch up," Ayers noted. "We can either take proactive steps to prevent gambling-related harms or repeat past mistakes and pay the price later.69制片厂制作传媒�

More information

The has a one-stop hub to connect people looking for assistance with a gambling problem to local resources.

SOURCE: University of California - San Diego, news release, Feb. 17, 2025

What This Means For You

If you need help with gambling addiction, call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit .