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

1. Did you ever lose time from work or school due to gambling? Yes    No
2. Has gambling ever made your home life unhappy? Yes    No
3. Did gambling affect your reputation? Yes    No
4. Have you ever felt remorse after gambling? Yes    No
5. Did you ever gamble to get money with which to pay debts or otherwise solve financial difficulties? Yes    No
6. Did gambling cause a decrease in your ambition or efficiency? Yes    No
7. After losing did you feel you must return as soon as possible and win back your losses? Yes    No
8. After a win did you have a strong urge to return and win more? Yes    No
9. Did you often gamble until your last dollar was gone? Yes    No
10. Did you ever borrow to finance your gambling?  Yes No
11. Have you ever sold anything to finance gambling? Yes    No
12. Were you reluctant to use “gambling money” for normal expenditures? Yes    No
13. Did gambling make you careless of the welfare of yourself or your family? Yes    No
14. Did you ever gamble longer than you had planned? Yes    No
15. Have you ever gambled to escape worry, trouble, boredom, loneliness, grief or loss? Yes    No
16. Have you ever committed, or considered committing, an illegal act to finance gambling? Yes    No
17. Did gambling cause you to have difficulty in sleeping? Yes    No
18. Do arguments, disappointments or frustrations create within you an urge to gamble? Yes    No
19. Did you ever have an urge to celebrate any good fortune by a few hours of gambling? Yes    No
20. 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.

Addiction and Recovery

By Bob Gaydos

     March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month in New York State. One out of 12 isn’t great odds, but it beats zip, so it’s worth noting.

      In truth, problem gambling, especially if it rises to the level of a mental disorder, is not a joking matter. It is a serious affliction that can ruin the lives of many more people than the gambler. As with all potentially addictive behavior, knowledge is the key to recognizing the problem and taking steps to address it, both for the gambler and those affected by it, usually family.

      To help family members learn about problem gambling, the New York Council on Problem Gambling has produced a Family Toolkit with a variety of useful information. The section titles include: 1) Understanding Problem Gambling, 2) Information for Struggling Families, 3) Self Care Information for Family Members, 4) Resources to Give Loved Ones When You’re Concerned About Their Gambling Behavior, and 5) Is gambling affecting your life?

        The Toolkit is the result of a partnership between the Council and NAMI-NYS. NAMI stands for National Alliance on Mental Illness. Addictive gambling, now classified as a disorder, is a recognized mental illness. According to the Council web site, the “partnership aims to bring awareness, hope and help to families struggling with problem gambling.”

         For the record, and lest anyone think it’s just a bunch of killjoys out to close casinos and kill sports betting, the Council on Problem Gambling is a not-for-profit, independent corporation which says it is “dedicated to increasing public awareness about problem and disordered gambling and advocating for support services and treatment for persons adversely affected by problem gambling.” It has a neutral stance on gambling and is governed by a board of directors.

          Even more interesting is its origin. According to the Council’s web site, “In 1972, the Board of Trustees of Gamblers Anonymous in the New York City area requested their Spiritual Advisor, Monsignor Dunne, establish a Council on Problem Gambling to do what they could not do because of anonymity — call national attention and raise awareness of problem gambling in the United States. The National Council on Problem Gambling was founded at that time and in 1975 was chartered as a nonprofit organization.”

         So you can thank the people who knew best about the ravages of addictive gambling — the gamblers themselves — for the creation of this lifeline. Appropriately, a 20-question quiz from Gamblers Anonymous is at the bottom of this column to help those who think they might have a problem decide. Hint: If you think you do, odds are you’re right.

      The Family ToolKit and other information on problem gambling are available on line at nyproblemgambling.org. For more information about NAMI-NYS, visit their website: https://www.naminys.org/. 

    Locally, as always, if you or someone you know is experiencing any addiction that is affecting your mental health, call the Orange County Crisis Call Center at 1-800-832-1200. Advocates are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.  

Gamblers Anonymous 20 questions

According to GA, most compulsive gamblers will answer ‘yes’ to at least 7 of these questions.

Bob Gaydos is a freelance writer. He has been writing this column on addiction for more than a dozen years. 

rjgaydos@gmail.com