Sports betting went from prohibited in most of the country to legal in 38 states and the District of Columbia in roughly six years, with online wagering available in 30. An expansion that fast invites a straightforward assumption: problem gambling must have exploded alongside it.
The national data does not support that, and the actual picture is more useful than the assumption. Overall rates rose during the pandemic and have since returned to pre-legalization levels. What changed is not how many people are affected, but who they are and what form their gambling takes.
Key Takeaways
- Problematic gambling behavior rose from 7% of adults in 2018 to 11% in 2021, then fell back to 8% in 2024.
- Researchers attribute the 2021 increase more to the pandemic than to the expansion of sports betting.
- Roughly 20 million American adults still report at least one indicator of problematic gambling.
- Risk is concentrated: 15% of adults aged 18 to 34 versus 2% of those 55 and older.
- Online betting and parlay wagering, both associated with higher risk, have grown substantially.
What the National Survey Found
The most systematic tracking comes from the National Council on Problem Gambling, which has run its National Survey on Gambling Attitudes and Gambling Experiences three times: in 2018, before widespread legalization; in 2021, during the pandemic; and again in April 2024.
The headline finding is that problematic play levels returned to 2018 levels. The share of adults reporting at least one of four potentially problematic gambling behaviors “many times” went from 7% in 2018 to 11% in 2021, and back down to 8% in 2024.
The report’s own interpretation is direct: these findings suggest the 2021 increase in problematic play may have been driven more by the COVID-19 pandemic than by the expansion of sports betting.
The survey also notes that most Americans did not place a sports bet in the 12 months preceding it, and that problematic gambling behavior extends well beyond sports. That is worth holding onto, because sports betting has absorbed nearly all the public attention while accounting for a minority of the activity.
None of this makes 8% a small number. It represents almost 20 million American adults reporting at least one indicator of problematic gambling behavior many times in the past year. The survey also cautions that it is not designed to assess the clinical prevalence of gambling disorder as defined in the DSM-5, so these figures describe problematic behavior rather than diagnosed cases.
What Actually Predicts Risk
The survey identified the strongest predictors, and the specific activity someone chooses is not among them.
The greatest predictors of risk identified in 2024 were participation in many different gambling activities, gambling weekly or more often, agreeing that gambling is a good way to make money, participating in sports betting or fantasy sports, gambling online, and being male and under the age of 35.
The frequency and breadth findings do most of the work. Among those meeting at least one criterion for problematic play:
- 28% of those betting on 10 or more different gambling activities
- 35% of those gambling on three or more activities weekly or more often
- 19% of those betting on at least one activity weekly or more often
- 24% of fantasy sports bettors and 17% of traditional sports bettors
- 19% of those making at least some bets online
- 15% agreeing that gambling is a good way to make money
The report is careful about causation, noting it cannot determine how much these factors contribute to problem gambling because they are highly correlated. Most sports bettors, for example, bet on a large number of other activities as well.
The belief item is worth noticing separately. Thinking gambling is a good way to make money is a modifiable belief rather than a demographic fact, which makes it one of the few risk factors that education can address directly.
Where the Concentration Sits
The aggregate number conceals a very uneven distribution.
Fifteen percent of adults aged 18 to 34 met at least one criterion for problematic play, compared with just 2% of those 55 or older. Ten percent of males met a criterion, almost twice the rate among females.
A young man who bets online, weekly, across several platforms sits at the intersection of nearly every risk factor the survey identified. That profile closely matches the audience the industry markets to most heavily, which is no coincidence.
Research on risk factors for gambling problems among sports bettors describes the vulnerable profile as young, male, single, educated, and employed full-time or studying, and identifies normative beliefs as a contributing factor. How much someone thinks their peers bet shapes how much they bet themselves, so a social circle where wagering is standard shifts the internal reference point.
What Did Change
Two structural shifts matter more than the prevalence number.
Gambling moved onto phones. Online participation rose from 15% in 2018 to 22% in 2024. That removes nearly every friction that used to limit gambling: travel, business hours, carrying cash, and being observed. A phone lets you bet during a workday, in bed at 2 a.m., or in the middle of the event you’re wagering on.
Parlays took over. The share of sports bettors placing parlay wagers nearly doubled, from 17% in 2018 to 30% in 2024. Parlays combine multiple bets requiring every leg to hit. They advertise large payouts, carry a substantially larger house edge than straight bets, and are structurally suited to loss-chasing, because a near miss on a five-leg parlay feels like almost winning rather than losing.
Research on sports gambling in the Americas and the rise of invisible risks frames this shift toward continuous, app-based, high-frequency wagering as a genuine change in exposure, not simply more of the same.
Several features of app-based betting compound that shift:
- In-play wagering allows continuous betting throughout an event rather than one decision before it starts, which turns a single bet into dozens.
- Instant deposits remove the pause that going to get cash used to impose.
- Promotional credits and free bets lower the perceived cost of the first wager and normalize larger stakes afterward.
- Push notifications prompt bets at moments the person did not choose.
- Privacy means nobody sees the pattern, removing the informal social check a physical venue provided.
None of those is inherently harmful for someone betting occasionally. Together they remove most of the natural friction that historically limited how much a person could gamble in a day, which matters most for exactly the group already at highest risk.
Why It Stays Hidden
Gambling disorder is classified alongside substance use disorders in the DSM-5 because it engages the same reward circuitry and produces recognizable features: tolerance in the form of needing larger bets for the same excitement, irritability and restlessness when trying to stop, loss of control, and continued use despite consequences.
It lacks any physical presentation. Nobody smells it. There is no slurred speech, no hangover, no visible impairment. Someone can lose an enormous amount over months while appearing entirely fine, and families often learn only when the financial damage surfaces.
Warning signs are therefore behavioral and financial:
- Bet sizes escalating over time to produce the same excitement
- Chasing losses with larger wagers to get even
- Borrowing money, selling belongings, or unexplained financial trouble
- Secrecy about phone use, or defensiveness when asked about betting
- Irritability or restlessness when unable to bet
- Multiple betting accounts, particularly after self-excluding from one
- Mood tracking closely with wins and losses
- Betting interfering with work, sleep, or relationships
Work examining online sports betting as an emerging addiction in youth adds a concern that outweighs the financial one: among young adults aged 16 to 24, increasing gambling severity over time has been associated with higher risk of suicide attempts. Money is the visible harm, but it is not the most serious.
The survey also found that a majority of the adult population attributes gambling problems to moral weakness or lack of willpower, and that a belief that gambling problems are not serious remains a common misconception. That framing keeps people from disclosing and keeps families from treating it as a health issue with available treatment. It is the same dynamic that delays help-seeking for substance use, and recognizing the early signs a loved one needs treatment works the same way here.
Treatment exists and works. Cognitive behavioral therapy has the strongest evidence base for gambling disorder. Where gambling sits alongside alcohol or drug use, which is common, treating both together produces better results than addressing either alone, and how families can stage an effective intervention applies to behavioral addictions as much as to chemical ones.
References
- National Survey on Gambling Attitudes and Gambling Experiences 3.0: Key Findings – National Council on Problem Gambling
- Demographic, Behavioural and Normative Risk Factors for Gambling Problems Amongst Sports Bettors – National Library of Medicine
- Sports gambling in the Americas: the rise of invisible risks – National Library of Medicine
- Current Addiction in Youth: Online Sports Betting – National Library of Medicine
FAQs
Did Legalizing Sports Betting Cause a Surge in Problem Gambling?
The national data does not show that. Problematic play rose from 7% of adults in 2018 to 11% in 2021 and returned to 8% in 2024, and the National Council on Problem Gambling attributes the 2021 increase more to the pandemic than to sports betting expansion. Risk did become more concentrated among younger men and online bettors.
What Is the Strongest Predictor of Gambling Problems?
Frequency and breadth rather than any single activity. Gambling weekly or more often, and betting across many different activities, are the strongest predictors, followed by believing gambling is a good way to make money, betting online, and being male and under 35.
Why Are Parlay Bets Considered Riskier?
Every leg must hit, which makes them far less likely to win while advertising large payouts, and they carry a substantially larger house edge than straight bets. A near miss feels like almost winning, which encourages chasing. Their share of sports betting nearly doubled between 2018 and 2024.
Is Gambling Disorder a Real Addiction?
Yes. It is classified alongside substance use disorders in the DSM-5 because it engages the same reward circuitry and produces tolerance, withdrawal-like irritability, loss of control, and continued use despite consequences. It differs mainly in that it has no visible physical presentation.
