(InvestigateTV) — Sports betting is on the rise throughout the nation as greater than two dozen states now permit on-line playing.
According to a NerdWallet survey, one in 5 Americans says they guess on sports activities within the final year, and the average gambler spent a number of thousand {dollars}. But consultants say these wagers can shortly get out of hand and tip over into habit.
“The addiction takes hold of you, and you can’t really control it,” mentioned a longtime Arizona sports activities bettor who requested to have his identification disguised.
He doesn’t need to disguise what he went by, betting on video games each week for greater than 5 years, dropping tens of 1000’s of {dollars}.
“I didn’t feel like I needed help, didn’t feel like I had an issue and it took my marriage being on the line to really open my eyes to fact that I had to correct things in my life,” he mentioned.
He says with all of the adverts and apps on the market, it has turn out to be approach too simple to position a guess.
“The amount of marketing and advertising they do is overwhelming,” he mentioned.
Survey reveals spending patterns
For the primary time ever, NerdWallet took a detailed take a look at the explosion in sports activities betting. Respondents to its survey say they’ve spent an average of $3,284 on playing in a 12-month time interval.
Elizabeth Ayoola, a private finance author at NerdWallet, says the survey additionally discovered 65 p.c of contributors say they’re doing this to make more money.
Lots of people mentioned they love playing. Ayoola says if that’s the case, it’s one thing you need to be budgeting for, so you could have a set quantity to spend.
“At NerdWallet, we suggest the 50, 30, 20 budget, which is that 50% of your income goes to needs, 30% to wants, and then 20% to debt and savings. So ideally, the gambling money should come out of that 30% bucket, which is your wants in spending,” Ayoola mentioned.
Financial planning suggestions
Before you resolve to gamble, Ayoola says there are three issues to essentially contemplate.
First, concentrate on your monetary snapshot — that’s your earnings, bills, belongings and debt, so you already know your true monetary well being. Second, set a strict funds. And third, remind your self of your monetary targets.
“While when you win you may earn extra money, people should remember that there are other ways to bring in extra income. So, one of those is considering a side hustle,” Ayoola mentioned.
Addiction dangers and safeguards
Addiction specialist Rick Zehr says most individuals gained’t develop a playing habit, however for some, the accessibility of sports activities betting apps may be a difficulty.
“The problem is that if you’re a pathological gambler, you no longer control the gambling. It’s controlling you,” Zehr mentioned. “While you might put those safeguards in place, you can also take them out of place, and you can continue to gamble in many other ways.”
DraftKings Chief Responsible Gaming Officer Lori Kalani says the playing firm is making efforts for folks to recreation extra responsibly.
“We launched something called My Stat Sheet, and that was the first of its kind in the industry,” Kalani mentioned. “My Stat Sheet will show my individual play by time, dollar spent, wins, and losses, and I can look at that over the course of this month, last month, the full year, or the lifetime of my account.”
Kalani mentioned the app additionally lets customers set budgets, closing dates, and time reminders whereas gaming.
“I hear people say, ‘Oh I don’t have a problem gambling, therefore, I don’t need to use your responsible gaming tools,’ and it’s actually quite the opposite. The responsible gaming tools are there to just give people the levers, controls, and setup to keep it responsible,” Kalani mentioned.
Warning indicators and assist out there
For the previous sports activities betting addict in Arizona, he’s not talking out to inform folks to cease playing. He simply needs to warn others how simply it’s to get hooked, and that there’s assist out there in case your betting will get uncontrolled.
“Be honest with yourself, recognize what you are doing to yourself and people around you,” he mentioned.
NerdWallet notes in its survey, practically three out of 10 sports activities bettors say they plan to extend the quantity they guess in 2025 in comparison with 2024, and multiple in 5 says their vital different doesn’t know the way a lot they spend playing.
If you’re involved that you just or a beloved one probably has an habit, the National Problem Gambling Helpline affords free and confidential assist.
- You can name: 1-800-522-4700
- Send a Text: 800GAM
- Start a chat on-line: NCPGambling.org
Copyright 2025 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.