Online sports betting linked to more hotline calls and suicides
A new study ties legalized mobile and web sports betting to rising problem-gambling hotline calls and suicide rates in affected states.
By Priya Raghavan · Science Reporter
3 min read
Legalized online sports betting was associated with more problem-gambling hotline calls and higher suicide rates in states that allowed digital sportsbooks, according to research described by George Mason University. The findings add evidence of a public health cost as states expand a fast-growing betting industry after a major 2018 Supreme Court ruling.
The study, forthcoming in Information Systems Research, was conducted by Brad Greenwood of George Mason University’s Costello College of Business, Gorkem Turgut Ozer of the University of New Hampshire and Anand Gopal of Nanyang Technological University. The researchers examined state-level changes after the Supreme Court invalidated the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, known as PASPA, which had restricted sports betting in much of the country.
George Mason University said the researchers compared states based on whether they legalized online betting, in-person betting, both or neither. The study used the staggered timing of those state decisions to examine changes in calls to the National Problem Gambling Hotline and state suicide counts.
The researchers found a 22.8% increase in calls to the National Problem Gambling Hotline in states that legalized online sportsbooks by the time the study was completed. They did not find a significant change when states legalized physical sportsbooks, according to George Mason University.
Greenwood said the results point to a distinct digital effect. He told George Mason University that mobile and web access may make compulsive gambling easier, while the absence of a similar increase for in-person sportsbooks suggests the format of access matters.
The study also found higher suicide rates in states with legalized online sports betting, George Mason University said. The effects were especially concentrated among young, unmarried men with less education, according to the university’s summary of the research.
The paper argues that app design may help explain the difference between digital and in-person betting. George Mason University said online betting platforms can offer rapid, gamified wagers beyond a game’s final score, including proposition bets tied to events such as a player’s foul count or a coin toss.
Greenwood said the structure of apps can combine alternating wins and losses with social validation, features that may increase addictive behavior. He also said the concentration of the suicide effect among young, unmarried men may suggest risks among college students, though the study says more evidence is needed.
The economic stakes have grown quickly since the 2018 ruling. George Mason University said nationwide sports betting revenue rose 44.5% in 2023 and reached $13.7 billion in 2024, while total wagers hit $119.84 billion. By June 2024, when the study was completed, the market had grown by nearly 27% a year since 2018, according to the university.
The authors said policymakers should weigh those revenue gains against mental health harms tied to digital gambling. Greenwood told George Mason University that states legalizing online betting should dedicate resources to mental health needs connected to the practice.
The researchers suggested funding training for mental health providers to identify and treat digital gambling addiction, education for young people about gamified betting and better information about services for people seeking help. Greenwood also said that news coverage of gambling harms has not appeared to slow legalization efforts.
The paper is titled “Let it Ride! An Empirical Investigation of Problem Gambling and the Implications of Legalized Online Sports Betting.” It is listed with the DOI 10.1287/isre.2024.1526.
This story draws on original reporting from Phys.org.