Congress debates problem gambling as sports bettors trend younger • Virginia Mercury

By Stacy Watkins/Capital News Service

RICHMOND, Va. — Football season has kicked off and stretches from September to February. The sport is forecasted to bring in $35 billion in legal bets this season, according to the American Gaming Association. 

In Virginia it is one of the top types of sports wagers made, according to Virginia Lottery gaming updates. Sports betting started in Virginia in 2021. It generated almost $69 million in taxes in fiscal year 2023, according to a legislative report.

How Virginia is addressing the dark side of gambling

That revenue is stacking coffers in U.S. states for totals in the billions. 

More people are sports betting now, and people in their early 20s are the fastest-growing group of gamblers, according to a 2023 report from the American Psychological Association, or APA. Nearly two-thirds of adolescents, ages 12 to 18, report having an experience with gambling.

Experts worry early exposure to gambling could lead to gambling addiction, and could be linked to higher risks of mental distress, according to the APA.

U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko, D-New York, and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, recently introduced legislation to tackle problem gambling, known as the ‘‘SAFE Bet Act.’’ 

The bill calls for a nationwide 12-month long survey to better provide data on the scope of “problem gambling and gambling-related harm experienced by individuals using online sports betting.”

 Qualified researchers would collect the data, and the study would not be sponsored by the gambling industry.The findings would be made available to the public, according to the bill.

The bill also proposes a national self-exclusion list, where individuals can restrict themselves from placing a sports wager with a sports wagering operator, and also a process for a person to add or remove themselves from the list. 

Sports betting does not require a bettor to walk into a casino and there are no set hours of operation. Someone can place a bet from their couch, or on their phone at any time of the day. The ads are also not regulated, so people consume sports betting promotions on social media and TV. 

The August numbers recently released by the Virginia Lottery show a 30.6% increase over the previous year. Virginians placed over $416 million in bets in August and won over $376 million.

Jaleel Patterson, a senior at Virginia Tech, places bets a few times a week, and definitely on Sundays because “NFL season is here.”

He has turned a profit, but not enough to be a sustainable income. Sports betting can be entertaining with friends who enjoy the competition, he said.

“If your favorite team is playing their favorite team, you will gamble and say ‘oh, my team is gonna beat your team,’” Patterson said. “Between friends, I feel like that makes it more fun compared to just doing it on your own.”

It is important for a bettor to determine what they want to spend, and even the amount of time they will spend on the apps, he said.

“Only play with what you are willing to lose,” Patterson said. 

Brendan Dwyer is the director of research at the Center for Sport Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University.

“[Sports betting] is a potentially fun activity if done responsibly,” Dwyer said.

He expects the amount of money wagered on sports across the U.S. will eventually slow down, but not in the immediate future.

“I don’t think we’ve completely penetrated the market,” Dwyer said. “I think we are still having new sports fans feel comfortable sports betting.”

Males under age 25 are most likely to become problem bettors, including betting money they don’t have or behaving irresponsibly, according to Dwyer. 

“I don’t think that’s unique to sports betting,” Dwyer said. “It’s something you see with alcohol consumption, drug use, and anything that involves regulating your behavior. Sports betting is an extra activity that fuels that misbehavior.” 

Sports betting isn’t any more emotional than gambling in a casino, Dwyer said. But when a bettor has a specific attachment to a sports team, it can be more emotional.

“If you don’t bet and you watch a football game, you’re going to be emotional about your favorite football team playing,” Dwyer said.”Sports in general is just more emotional.”

Carolyn Hawley is a VCU professor and president of the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling, which operates a helpline. She is also a past member of the Board of Directors of the National Council on Problem Gambling. 

The helpline received 967 intakes from January through June 2024, according to its August newsletter. That surpasses the total number of intakes last year, which was 898. 

The state helpline has seen a shift in the age of callers, which used to be older individuals who had gambled for years before developing a problem, Hawley said in a previous Capital News Service interview. 

Signs of problem gambling can be when it has a certain priority throughout a person’s daily life, according to Hawley.

“Are you spending a lot of time thinking about gambling and planning your next gambling activity?” Hawley said. “Are you spending more time gambling than you would with other activities that you used to enjoy? Do you need more and more to get that same level of excitement?” 

Anyone who thinks they have a gambling problem can contact the confidential and toll-free helpline at 1-888-532-3500 or visit the website: https://vcpg.net/.