The 2018 legalization of sports gambling has come with its consequences, with young men in particular reporting high levels of addiction. Anthony Bradley wrote about the trend this past week and highlighted the deep cost of sports gambling:

The numbers are staggering. Since 2018, over $486 billion has been legally wagered on sports in the U.S. States, eager for new revenue streams, have embraced OSG, collecting a combined $6.3 billion in taxes.

Sports gambling comes with potential money-making opportunities but also entails a lot of risk. Media outlets started picking up the trend a few years ago. In September 2024, The Hill published a piece titled “The normalization of gambling is fueling addiction,” in which Heather Hugelmeyer writes,

We’re seeing individuals face foreclosure and tremendous debt because they’re using mortgage, rent and grocery money to place bets. They feel fearful and without hope as their relationships splinter — not only from financial wreckage, but from the accompanying conditions from which problem gamblers also often suffer: anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders. Nearly 40 percent of people with a gambling disorder will consider suicide.  

As both Hugelmeyer and Bradley point out, sports gambling comes with the typical costs of any serious addiction: potentially losing everything, even everyone, in the addict’s life. The addiction becomes all-consuming.

Last June, famous rapper Jay-Z lost $1 million because he faultily bet that the Oklahoma City Thunder would beat the Indiana Pacers in five games. The series ended up going to a nail-biting seven games, with the Thunder eventually securing their first championship since the franchise moved to OKC in 2008. While millionaires can manage major cash hemorrhages, the average American faces devastation by just a single bet gone awry. Common sense says sports betting isn’t worth it. But once you start, it can be hard to stop.