Gambling & Mental Health
Behind the industry’s billions in revenue are millions of lives marked by addiction, debt, broken relationships, and despair. These are the numbers the gambling industry does not want you to see.
20M+
American adults report problematic gambling behaviors
1 in 5
gambling addicts attempt suicide — the highest rate of any addiction
45%
of young men (18–30) report at least one gambling-related problem
<10%
of problem gamblers ever seek treatment
The Scope of the Crisis
Gambling disorder is classified by the DSM-5 as a behavioral addiction — the only non-substance-related condition to receive that designation. According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, approximately 2 million U.S. adults meet the criteria for severe gambling disorder, with an additional 4 to 6 million experiencing mild to moderate gambling problems. Roughly 8 percent of American adults — an estimated 20 million people — report experiencing at least one indicator of problematic gambling in the past year.
The problem has grown in lockstep with the expansion of legal mobile sports betting. Gambling addiction rates rose approximately 30 percent between 2018 and 2021, a period that coincided with the rapid state-by-state legalization of sports wagering following the Supreme Court’s Murphy v. NCAA decision. Total U.S. sports wagers grew from $10.4 billion in 2019 to over $150 billion by 2024 — a more than tenfold increase in just five years.
Who Is Most Affected
Gambling addiction does not affect all populations equally. Research consistently shows that men are two to three times more likely than women to develop gambling disorder. Young men are at the greatest risk: the 18-to-24 age group has the highest addiction rate at 7.1 percent, compared to 0.5 percent among adults over 55.
The NCPG’s 2024 national survey found that 45 percent of young men aged 18 to 30 reported experiencing at least one gambling-related problem, and roughly 10 percent of men in that age group met the criteria for gambling addiction — well above the national average of approximately 3 percent.
The mobile sports betting industry targets this demographic with surgical precision. Polling data shows that 48 percent of men aged 18 to 49 have at least one sports gambling app on their phone. Parlay betting — a particularly high-risk form of wagering — nearly doubled among sports bettors between 2018 and 2024, rising from 17 percent to 30 percent.
Why Mobile Gambling Is Different
Mobile and online gambling is not simply traditional gambling on a smaller screen. Research suggests that online gamblers are three to eight times more likely to exhibit problematic gambling behavior than those who gamble exclusively in person. Among sports bettors specifically, 22 percent of those who wager on mobile devices report problem gambling, compared to 11 percent of those who bet only at physical locations.
The reasons are structural. Mobile gambling eliminates every natural friction point that once served as a de facto safeguard: the need to travel to a casino, the physical exchange of cash, the social visibility of the act. In its place, gambling apps offer 24/7 access from the privacy of a bedroom, with digital payment systems that abstract the reality of money being lost. Users engage with their phones in short, intermittent bursts throughout the day — a pattern that researchers have identified as especially conducive to compulsive behavior.
The platforms themselves are engineered for engagement. Modern gambling apps employ gamification techniques — progress tracking, achievement badges, social leaderboards, bonus rewards — borrowed from the mobile gaming industry and designed to blur the line between casual play and high-stakes wagering. These features do not exist to enhance the user experience. They exist to keep users betting.
Financial Devastation
The financial toll of gambling addiction is staggering. Studies estimate that U.S. problem gamblers accumulate average debts exceeding $40,000. The broader social cost of problem gambling in the United States — including lost productivity, healthcare expenditures, legal costs, and support services — was estimated at $14 billion in 2023.
Pathological gamblers experience elevated rates of job loss, divorce, domestic violence, bankruptcy, and incarceration. Financial ruin frequently precedes and accelerates mental health crises: the shame of mounting debt, the secrecy required to hide losses from loved ones, and the desperate cycle of chasing losses to recover what has already been lost combine to create a psychological burden that many individuals cannot bear alone.
Gambling, Despair, and Suicide
The most devastating consequence of gambling addiction is the toll it takes on human life. Research published in peer-reviewed journals has found that gambling disorder carries the highest suicide rate of any addiction — higher than alcohol, higher than drugs. The National Council on Problem Gambling reports that one in five individuals with gambling addiction will attempt suicide — a rate more than double that of any other addictive disorder.
Studies show that suicidal ideation among problem gamblers ranges from 12 to 92 percent depending on the population studied, and between 17 and 24 percent have histories of suicide attempts. Nearly half of Gamblers Anonymous participants report having contemplated suicide. Among those with diagnosed gambling disorder, 19 percent had considered suicide in the past year — compared to just 4.1 percent of the general population.
The link between gambling and suicide is mediated heavily by financial devastation. Research on completed suicides found that gambling-related cases were dramatically over-represented among deaths involving significant financial problems — 50.3 percent of gambling-related suicides involved financial distress, compared to 8.6 percent of non-gambling-related suicides.
More than 90 percent of individuals with gambling disorder have at least one co-occurring mental health condition, and more than 60 percent have three or more co-occurring psychiatric disorders. Depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders frequently accompany gambling addiction, creating a compounding crisis that the current treatment infrastructure is ill-equipped to address.
How Advertising Normalizes the Harm
The gambling industry’s advertising machine plays a central role in normalizing a behavior that carries serious risk of harm. Gambling advertisements are ubiquitous during sporting events, on social media, in podcasts, and across streaming platforms. They present betting as exciting, social, and risk-free — a fun extension of fandom rather than a financial transaction with real consequences.
This messaging lands hardest on young men, who are already the demographic most vulnerable to gambling addiction. By associating gambling with sports, masculinity, and peer culture, the industry creates a pipeline of new users who begin wagering before they fully understand the risks. Only 39 percent of Americans currently view gambling addiction as a “very serious” problem — compared to 62 percent for drug addiction and 55 percent for alcoholism. That perception gap is not an accident. It is the product of billions of dollars in marketing designed to keep gambling looking harmless.
If you or someone you know is struggling with gambling addiction, the National Problem Gambling Helpline is available 24/7 at 1-800-522-4700.