Study Suggests Links Between Alcohol Use and Sports Betting Problems

A study by medical journal JAMA Network’s JAMA Psychiatry division has suggested links between alcohol and sports betting problems. According to the study, the two tend to follow similar patterns of increase or decrease.

The Study Examined Betting and Alcohol Use

The study analyzed how the widespread expansion of sports betting in the United States has changed the market. It examined the six years of market growth following the PASPA’s repeal, the trends surrounding betting activity and alcohol use, and the potential problems stemming from the two.

The two-year longitudinal study was conducted in the United States from 2022 to 2024. It probed a total of 4363 American participants (2243 male versus 2120 female or nonbinary) who were recruited from a nonprobability internet panel from 2 sources.

JAMA Network clarified that it used a latent growth curve modeling to identify trajectories within betting and alcohol consumption. At each time point, researchers used the National Institute on Drug Abuse–modified Alcohol, Smoking, and Substance Involvement Screening Test 2 to assess participants.

Potential Links Were Discovered

The study reported “an association between the trajectories of sports gambling frequency and alcohol-related problems.” According to the JAMA Network researchers, when one of the two increases, so does the other, and vice versa.

The trajectories of alcohol-related problems and sports gambling did not move independently, instead being highly positively correlated, suggesting that increases in one would correspond to increases in the other.

Research excerpt

According to the researchers, this means that sports bettors are at risk of developing alcohol-related harms both generally and over time. Experts therefore recommended screening and treatment interventions for sports bettors who are also drinkers.

The study noted that its findings are consistent with similar research on the topic. Researchers highlighted the importance of understanding such links, considering that sports betting has become one of the most accessible forms of gaming in the United States. JAMA Network argued that this is why understanding the detriments of the pairing of alcohol use with wagering is so important.

Recent Study Said Betting Fueled Spike in Addiction Searches

JAMA Internal Medicine specialist recently studied how sports betting has impacted people in the US. Its Growing Health Concern Regarding Gambling Addiction in the Age of Sportsbooks study, compiled by researchers with the University of San Diego, California and Bryn Mawr College, discovered that sports wagers have skyrocketed from $4.9 billion in 2017 to a mind-blowing $121.1 billion five years later.

This expansion also led to a spike in problem gambling searches, JAMA Internal Medicine suggested. According to the study, there were 23% more searches nationally after the repeal of the PASPA. Certain higher-traffic states, such as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, had more searches than expected.

Analysts also pointed out that states with online sportsbooks had recorded a larger increase in problem gambling-related searches than others.