Gambling addiction does not carry the same weight of stigma as it used to, with clinicians, researchers, medical experts, and gambling companies informing the public debate on the issue.

However, since the Supreme Court of the United States repealed the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA) in 2018, after a long-drawn battle initiated by New Jersey, searches for this exact phrasing, "gambling addiction" have surged by 23% over the past seven or so years.

Google data reveals an increase in searches for gambling addiction post legalization in 2018

This is the finding of the American Medical Association’s journal, JAMA Internal Medicine, which has highlighted the issue by analyzing Google data between 2016 and 2024. The parameters were rather simple.

The journal was looking for mentions of "gambling, addiction, addict, or anonymous hotline," trying to see how the numbers had been affected following the legalization of sports gambling on a federal level, and the subsequent launch of the activity in nearly 40 states across the country.

According to the journal, a total of 6.5m-7.3m nationwide queries were placed, with their authors seeking help for gambling-related harm and problem gambling in general.

Based on this methodology, the research found out that calls for help in places such as Illinois, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia have jumped between 30% and 67%.

However, similar complaints have been heard from other states too. Florida’s gambling helpline seems to be drawing more people. The historic data for Florida suggests that in 2020 there were 19,167 calls to the helpline, but once the Hard Rock Bet rolled out in earnest, there were 62,753 calls in 2024 alone.

This is not surprising, as evidence is now emerging to suggest that although the legalization of sports gambling was meant to curb the offshore market, something which has been achieved through a series of enforcement actions against offenders, the proliferation of legit gambling operators has also led to an increase in people seeking help for their behavior.

Online betting and gaming drive higher volumes of addiction searches

Another point of note was the fact that online gambling tends to lead to a higher frequency of addictive behavior.

To illustrate its point, the journal said that when sports betting was only available in land-based facilities, the rate of searches was smaller – around a 33% increase when sports betting was only available in brick-and-mortar venues in Pennsylvania.

The searches shot up by 61% once the online sports betting industry was rolled out giving credence to the fears that online gambling can lead to levels of harm.

Image credit: Unsplash.com