As millions of Americans bet on this weekend's Super Bowl, gambling experts are warning that looser online betting rules are fueling a wave of new addicts — and a 'time bomb' of bankruptcies, suicides and broken families in the coming years.
A record 50.4 million Americans are predicted to bet up to $16 billion on Sunday's clash between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, the American Gaming Association, says — a 61 percent jump on last year's event.
That alarms former addicts and researchers, who say sports betting firms often target college students as they lure new users to cell phone betting apps that then hook them on roulette, slots, and other compulsive games.
They told DailyMail.com of a multibillion-dollar industry using data scientists to attract users with an array of well-timed freebies and rewards that sees them enter credit card numbers and start blowing hundreds of dollars in minutes.
One researcher warned of a 'time bomb' of gambling misery that will detonate in the not-too-distant future, slot gacor 77 even as lawmakers look the other way, loosen restrictions further and collect the windfall tax revenues.
'Anything you stick on a phone that lets people drain their bank account in one evening is a bad idea,' said Brian Hatch, 40, a recovered gambling addict based in Connecticut. 'I think it'll be the next opioid crisis.'
Sports betting adverts have become a dominant feature of games, including at this clash between the New Orleans Saints and the Washington Redskins in Landover, Maryland
A Rutgers study last year found the number of people posting about problematic gambling on Reddit grew five times faster following the introduction of legal sports betting in 2018
At 18, Hatch got sucked into blackjack in his native Michigan, but ended up hooked on slots in his 14-year gambling misadventure. He flunked college, burned through paychecks, loans, and his 401K, and ended up bankrupt and suicidal.
When he started out, the five-hour round trip to a tribal casino put the brakes on Hatch's gambling. He now assists those hooked on new casino apps, and tells scary tales of users spinning digital wheels while in the restroom or even as they speed along freeways.
'Having that app on a phone in your pocket is so insidious,' he said. 'I feel bad for those people who get addicted to it — it's really hard to try to avoid your phone.'
A Supreme Court decision in 2018 opened the door to legalizing the billions of dollars that Americans wagered illegally on professional and amateur sports each year — often through illicit bookies or offshore gambling houses.
Since the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act was struck down, 36 states and Washington DC have legalized sports betting, typically for adults aged 21 and over, says the AGA, an industry body.
Even so, Americans still bet more than $510 billion on the black market each year, denying states tax revenues, the AGA says.
New England Patriots cornerback Stephon Gilmore stretches in front of a Draft Kings sports betting advert during a practice session in 2020.