Betting the house

On more than one occasion, Janice Pierce has gotten a call from someone whose spouse put their home up for sale to pay for a gambling debt.

Pierce is the financial counseling practice lead at GamFin, a company specializing in gambling-related debt management. She works with people who have “high amounts of debt,” sometimes thanks to mobile sportsbooks. “It’s all so accessible now that you don’t have to get in your car and drive to a casino,” Pierce said.

Sports betting has recently come under scrutiny following a high-profile FBI investigation. In one of the indictments, the FBI charged six people including Miami Heat Guard Terry Rozier for allegedly sharing insider information about NBA games and player performances to influence betting odds.

This and similar scandals have prompted the NBA and some state leaders to advocate for tighter regulations on sports betting, arguing the practice is too tempting for players and undermines the very competition being wagered on. But fans are the ones who suffer most. Thanks to the rapid rise of mobile sportsbooks, many Americans have found they just can’t quit placing bets. For some, a few dollars quickly leads to three-figure losses, and many gamblers don’t even realize they’re addicted.

Nationwide sports betting is a relatively new phenomenon. A 2018 Supreme Court decision allowed states to regulate the practice. Today, 39 states and the District of Columbia permit it.

Mobile sportsbooks like FanDuel and DraftKings are legal in 32 states. Using so-called prediction markets like Kalshi, even gamblers living in states that don’t allow sports betting can wager on sporting events since prediction markets aren’t legally considered gambling platforms. Gamblers wagered more than $148 billion on sports last year, about 45% online. Nearly half of men under 50 have an account with at least one mobile sportsbook.

Pairing sports and mobile wagering can easily become “enslaving,” said Jared Pincin, an associate professor of economics at Cedarville University in Ohio. Young men are particularly susceptible to addiction. “You add in the dopamine of placing these wagers, now you’re upping the excitement on an event they already like.”

Less than 5% of bettors make a consistent profit, meaning the sportsbooks make the majority of their revenue on losers. According to a recent US News survey, about a quarter of sports bettors said they couldn’t pay a bill because of a bet. Roughly 15% took out loans to fund wagers.

“We’re seeing so much money move out of things that it should be going into, like college, retirement, buying a house, buying a car,” said GamFin’s Janice Pierce. “All of those things people should be saving their money for is being spent gambling or gaming.”

According to the latest research from the National Council on Problem Gambling, roughly 20 million Americans report experiencing “problematic gambling behavior.” As many as a quarter of gamblers think their habit is out of control.

The majority of gambling addicts likely don’t report their symptoms. “With the element of guilt and shame, not everybody is as forthcoming about [their] problem,” said Andreas Bienert, assistant professor of counseling at Colorado Christian University. That means actual numbers are likely higher.

Two bills introduced last year could force the federal government to get more involved in gambling regulation and addiction treatment. The Gambling Addiction Recovery, Investment, and Treatment (GRIT) Act aims to set aside 50% of federal gambling tax revenue to fund addiction treatment and research grants. The federal government took in about $150 million in taxes for money wagered on gambling in 2024.

The SAFE Bet Act would ban sportsbook marketing during live sporting events, prohibit bettors from making more than five deposits within a 24-hour period, and prevent sportsbook operators from using AI to track gambling habits.

Preserving the reputation of leagues has motivated some people to push back on sports betting. In late July, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced his intention to crack down on prop betting or wagering based on particular actions rather than the end result of the game. This came after Cleveland Guardians pitcher Luis Ortiz threw first pitches well outside the strike zone in two different games, allegedly so bettors could wager on the pitches being balls.

Prop betting also played a role in the recent FBI investigation. While playing for the Charlotte Hornets, Terry Rozier allegedly tipped off a friend that he would leave a game early, allowing accomplices to wager more than $200,000 on Rozier’s under stats.

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told sports analyst Pat McAfee that the NBA wants its sportsbook partners to “pull back some of the prop bets.” The NBA, like most leagues, has partnerships with multiple sportsbooks.

But Cedarville’s Jared Pincin believes it will be difficult to put the entire sports betting genie back in the bottle. Even Christians have mixed views about it. A little over half of pastors believe sports betting is wrong, but only about 7% discouraged the practice from the pulpit last year, according to Lifeway Research.

“You’ll have churches that are running March Madness pools,” he said, acknowledging that while many con­gregants don’t play for money, it still legitimizes the practice.

“And that’s just, I think, setting people up for failure.”