Gambling replacing alcohol for young adults

Addiction and Recovery

By Bob Gaydos

"Football, beer, and above all, gambling filled up the horizon of their minds. To keep them in control was not difficult."

George Orwell, 1984

***

Man, was Orwell tuned in.

My mind went to Orwell's famous quote when I read about the FBI arresting more than 30 people, including an NBA star and a head coach as well as several alleged Mafia members, in connection with insider sports betting and rigged poker games. The feds say millions of dollars were involved. I say I'm not surprised.

I've been writing this Addiction and Recovery column for nearly 20 years. Despite all the legitimate focus on the damage wrought by substance abuse and alcoholism and the need to help the addicted find recovery, I've always felt that addiction to gambling did more far-reaching harm, affecting more non-addicted people while receiving considerably less attention.

I also felt that the professional sports leagues were asking for trouble when they linked up officially with legal sports betting. But the lure of big profits, like a winning hand at the casino or the payoff for a missed field goal, proved to be too much. Like addiction.

So Congress now wants to talk to NBA officials about another star accused of faking an injury to cover an over/under bet and a coach serving as a front for the mob to lure suckers into a rigged poker game.

That's good. But I want to talk about the growing problem of gambling addiction, particularly among young adults.

I don't believe in coincidences. A recent Gallup Poll got a lot of attention because it found that only 54 percent of U.S. adults said they drink alcohol, an all-time low. The decline was most significant among young adults (18-34), for whom the drinking rate has fallen to 50 percent. That's down from 72 percent two decades ago. Good news, right?

The decline was attributed to several factors, including greater health awareness, availability of non-alcoholic drinks and, yes, greater accessibility to legalized cannabis.

But the figures also show that what is called Problematic Gambling is becoming more common in young adults, with a notable increase in helpline callers between the ages of 18 and 24 since 2019, with the legalization of sports betting.

The figures also show a significant increase in people searching online for help with gambling addiction, which is now recognized as a mental health disorder. From 2018 to 2023, the National Council on Problem Gambling reported a 30 percent increase in gambling problems related to sports betting.

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