Pro Bettors Trick Sportsbooks by Acting Like Addicts, Research Reveals

Skilled sports gamblers now use new methods to get around sportsbook restrictions. Some even pretend to have gambling problems. This trick helps them keep higher betting limits and get bonuses meant for big spenders, including people who might have gambling issues. These actions make the already worrying problem of risky gambling even worse in the fast-growing US online betting market.

Legalized Sports Betting Impacts Vulnerable Gamblers and Their Finances

After the Supreme Court lifted the federal ban on sports betting in 2018, the industry grew. Now, 30 US states and Washington DC allow legal online betting. However, experts caution that this growth has negative effects on some bettors. A study by researchers from Southern Methodist University, the University of Maryland, and the University of California San Diego looked at anonymous bank records of gamblers, reported Bloomberg. They found that a small but increasing number of bettors spend over 10% of their monthly income on gambling. This trend was common among people with lower incomes raising concerns about how this behavior affects their finances and social lives.

Professional bettors, or sharps, have come up with ways to look like casual or even addicted gamblers to avoid getting caught and keep their accounts open. Rufus Peabody, who bets for a living, said some sharps make bets that look like those of average bettors on purpose to keep or raise their betting limits. Also, word has spread that sharps set up systems to log into their accounts in the morning acting like people who cannot stop gambling. This trick helps pro bettors, but it shows a big problem with how online sportsbooks treat their most at-risk customers.

Gambling Industry Promises Responsible Betting but New Research Exposes a Stark Financial Reality

Even though the gambling industry says it cares about responsible betting new research tells a different story. A team-up study by UCLA and the University of Southern California found that states where online sports betting is legal have seen more bankruptcies and worse credit scores. The research shows that sports betting has an impact on money matters beyond just the people who bet affecting larger groups in these states. The hardest hit face serious financial woes.

Most people who bet do it without much risk, but sportsbooks make a lot of money from a small group of gamblers with problems. Studies show that about 3% of bettors are responsible for almost half of what sportsbooks earn. Because of this, some people want tighter rules in states thinking about making online casino games legal.

These games tend to get even more people hooked on gambling. Even though some US lawmakers, like Representative Paul Tonko and Senator Richard Blumenthal, have pushed back and introduced bills to regulate the industry big changes at the federal level will not happen. Experts say that putting in place more safety measures such as outlawing online casino games and doing more thorough checks on what people can afford, could help reduce the growing dangers of legal online betting.