As legal gambling spreads, so does gambling addiction
2024 CAMPAIGN COMPETITORS ARE
RUSHING TO HIS DEFENSE.
>> COLLEGE BASKETBALL, CROWNED
NATIONAL CHAMPION ON MONDAY AND
SOON YOU MAY BE ABLE TO BET ON
GAMES LIKE THAT RIGHT TO YOUR
CELL PHONE IN NORTH CAROLINA,
LAWMAKERS ARE DEBATING THE
ISSUE. SOME SAY LEGALIZATION
IS OVERDUE. WHILE CRITICS SAY
IT COULD LEAD TO AN ADDICTION
CRISIS, WRAL, SPORTS
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER BRIAN
MURPHY HAS THE STORY.
>> WE'RE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE
LARGEST AND FASTEST EXPANSION
OF GAMBLING IN THE NATION'S
HISTORY. AND WITH THAT COMES
FEAR FOR MANY THAT THE UNITED
STATES IS ALSO GOING TO SEE
A HUGE INCREASE IN ADDICTION,
PARTICULARLY AMONG YOUNG MEN
THAT COULD HAVE BIG
CONSEQUENCES.
>> SO MALIK, ALWAYS LIKE THE
THRILL OF GAMBLING SCRATCH
OFFS. THE RACETRACK CASINO
NIGHT, A COLLEGE FRIEND
INTRODUCED HIM TO A AND HE MADE
HIS FIRST SPORTS BET. WHEN I
SAW MY THAT WINNING IT WAS LIKE
10 BUCKS A NIGHT OUT. PROBABLY
BETTER ABOUT MYSELF. AND I
NEVER FELT BEFORE THAT WEEKEND
IN 2017, HE WON ANOTHER BET.
SUDDENLY HAD SOMETHING TO SET
HIM APART FROM OTHER MEMBERS OF
HIS COLLEGE FRATERNITY. HE WAS
HOOKED AND THEN HE WAS LOSING.
I WAS PLACING SO MANY BETS THAT
THERE WAS NO WAY I WAS GOING TO
BE ABLE TO.
>> WHEN EVERY CROATIAN THAT,
THERE'S BEEN A 30% INCREASE IN
THE RISK FOR GAMBLING PROBLEMS
NATIONWIDE SINCE 2018. YOUNG
MALES WHO BET ON SPORTS ONLINE
MAKE UP THE MAJORITY OF THE
INCREASE. OHIO LEGALIZE MOBILE
SPORTS BETTING IN JANUARY CALLS
TO ITS PROBLEM. GAMBLING
HELPLINE JUMPED 150% IN NORTH
CAROLINA. THAT ESTIMATED RATE
OF PROBLEM GAMBLING IS 5.5%
OF BETTORS. THE PROPOSED BILL
GIVES 2 MILLION ANNUALLY FOR
GAMBLING ADDICTION, EDUCATION
AND TREATMENT. DOUBLE THE
CURRENT BUDGET. PROPONENTS SAY
A LEGAL MARKET WILL HELP
IDENTIFY PROBLEM. GAMBLERS AND
THE APPS OFFER MEASURES TO STOP
PEOPLE FROM SPIRALING AND THE
SMART THING IS TO REGULATE THIS
MARKET.
>> AND GIVE PEOPLE WHO NEED
PROBLEM, GAMBLING SUPPORT THE
HELP AND THE RESOURCES THEY
NEED. MALIK, WHO LIVES IN TEXAS
WAS PLACING BETS OVERNIGHT
WAKING UP EARLY TO SEE IF YOU
WON AND THEN PLACE MORE WAGERS.
IT IMPACTED THE SLEEP STUDIES
SCHOOLWORK AND RELATIONSHIPS.
MALIK ENTERED A RECOVERY
PROGRAM AND HAS IN PLACE THE
BET SINCE LATE SUMMER 2019,
IT'S REALLY BE A.
>> THE TIME IT'S LOST HIS
FAMILY IN THE EMOTIONAL DAMAGE
THAT SOME PEOPLE NEVER WOULD
REPAIR, YOU KNOW, CAN TAKE
YEARS.
>> BRIAN MURPHY, WRAL.
>> 26 STATES IN WASHINGTON,
D.C., HAVE LEGALIZED MOBILE
SPORTS GAMBLING 2022. WRAL POLL
FOUND MORE THAN 50% OF
RESPONDENTS SAID SPORTS