PEORIA, Ill. — March Madness has arrived for the first time since 2019, and it’s a time of year when sports gambling ramps up throughout the country.
This will, however, be the first NCAA Tournament since Illinois legalized sports betting, making betting on individual games more accessible to bettors.
According to the American Gaming Association (AGA), 47 million Americans wagered near $8.5 billion on the 2019 tournament.
$4.6 billion was expected to be wagered throughout the country on “bracket pools.”
However, sports gambling presents a risk of addiction to bettors much like other types of gambling.
President of UnityPlace Dr. Ted Bender said a majority of Americans will place a bet at some point.
“Nationwide 85% of people will gamble at least one point in their life,” said Bender. “60% of people have made a wager of some sort in the last year.”
While some people do struggle with sports betting addictions , the overwhelming majority gamble responsibly, according to Bender.
“About 2 million people in the United States do suffer from a severe gambling disorder,” said Bender. “Another 4-6 million estimated will fit in a more moderate category.”
According to Bender, there can be many reasons someone gets addicted: genetic tendencies, inability to manage stress, or someone’s upbringing.
“You take a susceptible person — who may have some of those genetic tendencies or negative upbringings — plus adding in sports betting can lead to a problematic behavioral health condition,” said Bender.
While UnityPoint doesn’t see an increase in March for people seeking out help for gambling addictions, he says problems have become more common during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We have seen dramatic increases since the pandemic began around addictive disorders in general,” said Bender. “People that suffer from severe gambling disorders often have co-occurring substance use disorders.
“It’s not generally just linked to one specific type of betting.”
Some signs that indicate someone has an addition, according to Bender, are large credit card debt, inability to pay bills, and constantly asking for money for various reasons.
Bender acknowledged that most betting is just done for fun, but there are some early warning signs to be aware of.
“When it becomes something more than just for fun — you need the money for some bill or it’s causing you stress in your daily life — that’s the earliest warning sign I can think of for any problematic behavior, not just gambling,” said Bender.
“Always, always, always try to nip it in the bud as soon as possible.”
UnityPlace has services available to help patients with mental health, substance-abuse, gambling disorders, and many others.
Their access center is available to call 24 hours a day at (888)-311-0321.
Full interview with Dr. Ted Bender:
