PEORIA (25News Now) – Sports betting is more accessible than ever, raking in billions of dollars a year.
The American Gaming Association’s annual report shows sports betting brought in $13.71 billion in 20204, a 25% increase from 2023. The same report shows that Americans spent $148 billion on sports last year.
The American Gaming Association also predicts more than $3 billion will be spent on March Madness alone this year after selection on March 16.
Some betting sites are now making responsible gaming tools a priority. DraftKings Chief Responsible Gaming Officer Lori Kalani said sports betting is meant to be fun and that technology is making it easier to game more responsibly with innovative gaming safeguards.
“We launched something called My Stat Sheet, and that was the first of its kind in the industry,” Kalani said. “My stat sheet will show my individual play by time, dollar spent, wins, and losses, and I can look at that over the course of this month, last month, the full year, or the lifetime of my account.”
Kalani said the app also lets users set budgets, time limits, and time reminders while gaming. She said she and others at DraftKings hope to destigmatize responsible gaming.
“I hear people say, ‘Oh I don’t have a problem gambling, therefore, I don’t need to use your responsible gaming tools,’ and it’s actually quite the opposite,” Kalani said. “The responsible gaming tools are there to just give people the levers, controls, and setup to keep it responsible.”
However, a Peoria addiction specialist said responsible gaming is not always as simple as it sounds.
Trillium Place Director of Addiction and Substance Use Services Rick Zehr said most people won’t develop a gambling addiction, but for some, the accessibility of sports betting apps can be an issue.
He said for people who do have a gambling disorder, responsible gaming tools may not work.
“The problem is that if you’re a pathological gambler, you no longer control the gambling. It’s controlling you,“ Zehr said. ”While you might put those safeguards in place, you can also take them out of place, and you can continue to gamble in many other ways.“
Zehr said responsible gaming should not negatively impact a person’s life. He encourages people who want to seek treatment for a gambling addiction to consider attending Gambling Anonymous or reach out to an addiction recovery center.
Before it was owned by Carle Health, Zehr said the gambling recovery center at Trillium Place was run by Proctor Hospital. It opened over 30 years ago, serving as the world’s first gambling addiction treatment facility.
Zehr said people seeking treatment can call 309-691-1055 or visit their website for help.
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