The Gambling Epidemic Is Out Of Control
If you watch sports today, there’s no avoiding gambling.
From pre-game shows where analysts and commentators select their favorite bets to hit, to odds being displayed on the bottom of the screen during a game, the message is clear: “WE WANT YOU TO GAMBLE!”
I’ve seen the direct effects of gambling when watching games with my friends. It’s no longer about watching your team win—it’s about hitting all the bets you place.
How did this vice become so mainstream?
Gambling in the United States has a long and complicated history, dating back to colonial America under British occupation.
From horse racing to card games, those traditional practices still exist today.
The Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was a U.S. federal law enacted back in 1992. Its purpose was to prohibit states from authorizing or licensing sports betting.
A few states, however, were exempt from this—Nevada, Oregon, Delaware and Montana—as gambling was already legalized there.
This bill was controversial because it created an uneven playing field that allowed some to profit from legal sports betting while banning it for the rest of the country.
In May 2018, the Supreme Court dissolved PASPA due to the result of the Murphy v. NCAA case, in which the federal ban on sports betting was repealed.
Three years later, Florida governor Ron Desantis and the Seminole Tribe created a compact that allowed sports betting statewide, including on mobile devices.
Online and in-person sports betting became fully legal in Florida in December 2023, with the latter being available exclusively under the Seminole Tribe’s “Hard Rock Bet”.
The platform is the only way to sportsbet in Florida as per the 2021 agreement—effectively monopolizing the market for the foreseeable future.
Although these new laws haven’t been in effect for long, we are feeling the consequences.
It’s hard to remember a time when we were not being bombarded with gambling ads on every single media platform. It’s become so irritating that I can’t look at Kevin Hart’s face without a hint of annoyance anymore.
Additionally, it’s exhausting to listen to a room full of people complaining about how a player or team ruined their $5 bet. They need this guy to score on team A, but this guy from team B needs a certain statistic, and so on.
I have a distinct memory of a photo my friend sent me showing that he had placed a bet at 3 a.m. on a random women’s tennis match.
I thought to myself, what have we become? Are we just betting now for the sensation of it?
The act of placing a bet is addictive, and the numbers don’t lie.
According to the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling, within about a month of the Hard Rock Bet app’s launch, there was a reported 138% increase in calls and texts to their 24/7 helpline compared to the previous month.
The demographic that seems to have taken the biggest hit? Young men. Data indicates that 66% of online bettors in Florida are under 30.
I worry about the long-term implications. Young people are growing up in a world where gambling has become casual, and older people are picking up a new vice.
This issue is present in every aspect of our media. There’s no escape from it. The accessibility has made it very problematic in the same way vaping is—you can do it anywhere, anytime.
If you are struggling with gambling, you can call 888-ADMIT-IT—a hotline that helps with addiction.
Like any issue, you have to take it one day at a time—it isn’t an overnight process. Be patient with yourself.
