Gambling Replacing Alcohol for Many
Addiction and Recovery
There has been a significant increase in gambling among young adults, especially since the legalization of sports betting.
By Bob Gaydos
“Football, beer, and above all, gambling filled up the horizon of their minds. To keep them in control was not difficult.”
— George Orwell, “1984”
***
Man, was Orwell tuned in.
My mind went to Orwell’s famous quote when I read about the FBI arresting more than 30 people, including an NBA Star and a head coach as well as several alleged Mafia members in connection with insider sports betting and rigged poker games. The feds say millions of dollars were involved. I say I’m not surprised.
I’ve been writing this addiction and recovery column for nearly 20 years. Despite all the legitimate focus on the damage wrought by substance abuse and alcoholism and the need to help the addicted find recovery, I’ve always felt that addiction to gambling did more far-reaching harm, affecting more non-addicted people while receiving considerably less attention.
I also felt that the professional sports leagues were asking for trouble when they linked up officially with legal sports betting. But the lure of big profits, like a winning hand at the casino or the payoff for a missed field goal, proved to be too much. Like addiction.
So Congress now wants to talk to NBA officials about another star accused of faking an injury to cover an over/under bet and a coach serving as a front for the mob to lure suckers into a rigged poker game.
That’s good. But I want to talk about the growing problem of gambling addiction, particularly among young adults.
I don’t believe in coincidences. A recent Gallup Poll got a lot of attention because it found that only 54 percent of U.S. adults said they drink alcohol, an all time low. The decline was most significant among young adults (18-34), for whom the drinking rate has fallen to 50 percent. That’s down from 72 percent two decades ago. Good news, right?
The decline was attributed to several factors, including greater health awareness, availability of non-alcoholic drinks and, yes, greater accessibility to legalized cannabis.
But the figures also show that what is called “Problematic gambling” is becoming more common in young adults, with a notable increase in helpline callers between the ages of 18 and 24 since 2019, with the legalization of sports betting.
The figures also show a significant increase in people searching online for help with gambling addiction, which is now recognized as a mental health disorder. From 2018 to 2023, the National Council on Problem Gambling reported a 30 percent increase in gambling problems related to sports betting.
It also reported that Online sportsbooks had a substantially greater impact on those seeking help for gambling addiction than traditional casinos. This is not surprising, given younger generations’ addiction to smartphones and online platforms that make gambling available 24 hours a day as long as you can get a signal.
But there’s also help available 24 hours a day from local crisis hotlines which have trained counselors who can refer callers to professional help. If you think you’re just dealing with “problematic gambling,” but others think otherwise, Gamblers Anonymous, which offers a 12-step recovery program based on the Alcoholics Anonymous program, has a questionnaire to help you decide.
Gamblers Anonymous 20 questions
- Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling? Yes No
- Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy? Yes No
- Did gambling affect your reputation? Yes No
- Have you ever felt remorse after gambling? Yes No
- Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties? Yes No
- Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency? Yes No
- After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses? Yes No
- After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more? Yes No
- Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone? Yes No
- Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling? Yes No
- Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling? Yes No
- Were you reluctant to use “gambling money” for normal expenditures? Yes No
- Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family? Yes No
- Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned? Yes No
- Have you ever gambled to escape worry, trouble, boredom, loneliness, grief or loss? Yes No
- Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling? Yes No
- Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping? Yes No
- Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble? Yes No
- Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling? Yes No
- Have you ever considered self-destruction or suicide as a result of your gambling? Yes No
According to GA, most compulsive gamblers will answer ‘’yes’’ to at least 7 of these questions. If that’s the case, talking to someone who knows about how to deal with the “problem” would be the safe bet.
Tags: 1984, addiction, alcohol, basketball, Bob Gaydos, cannabis, FBI, Gamblers Anonymous, gambling, Mafia, Online, Orwell, sports, sports betting, sports book
