January 31, 2025 3 min read

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Harvard Panel Raises Alarm Over Harm Stemming from Spread of Sports Gambling in US

The proliferation of sports gambling in the United States may be tied to higher-than-expected harm levels, cautions the panel, which is keen to ensure that people do not fall prey to bad habits

A panel of academics joined a panel held over Zoom to discuss the risks associated with the proliferation of gambling in the United States. Since 2018, when a seminal piece of legislation known as PASPA was overturned by the Supreme Court of the United States, sports gambling has expanded at a rapid clip.

The panel was hosted by the Harvard T.H., Chan School of Public Health and moderated by WBZ-TV journalist Laura Haefeli. The debate saw Timothy Fong, Co-Director of the UCLA Problem Gambling Studies Program among the participants, who said that gambling is an inherent part of the human experience and has been around for “hundreds of thousands of years.”

It’s essentially written into our DNA, Fong explained, backed by another colleague, Shekhar Saxena, a Chan School adjunct professor of global mental health. Saxena spoke about the way the gambling industry has responded to the surging interest in the vertical, arguing that companies have made gambling “seamless.”

Saxena mentioned the convenience of gambling and how it has been turned into a product that you can get acquainted with and start within a matter of minutes. However, the panel focused on more than just extolling the virtues of clever marketing or technological superiority demonstrated by the companies in question.

Rather, the panel sought to raise an alarm over the proliferation of gambling-related harm which has been seen as a direct result of the expansion of gambling – and specifically sports betting as well as online casino games.

The National Council on Problem Gambling, the panelists argued, already points to at least 2.5 million individuals in the country who are subject to a gambling disorder, and their numbers may yet increase.

Federal Regulation Needed to Make Things Safer for Gamblers

Director of the Center for Gambling Studies and co-director of the Addiction Counselor Training Certificate Program at the Rutgers University School of Social Work Lia Nower explained that adolescents are presently the most at risk of sliding into unhealthy gambling behaviors and need to be better protected.

Director of the Massachusetts Office of Problem Gambling Services Victor Ortiz similarly said that even better-educated and better-paid professionals were now at risk of sliding into gambling addiction. Ultimately, the panelists recourse to making things better is for the federal government in the United States to intervene.

There have already been calls for that including tougher taxes, more funds allocated for responsible gambling and treatment options, as well as more restrictive advertising rules.

Journalist

Although Fiona doesn't have a long-spanning background within the gambling industry, she is an incredibly skilled journalist who has built a strong interest in the constantly growing iGaming network. The team at Gambling News is glad to have her on our roster to help deliver the best stories as soon as they hit. Aside from writing, she loves to dabble in online casino games such as slots and roulette, both for her own enjoyment and also as research to better improve her understanding of the industry.

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