Now that we can bet on sports on our phones, the people who offer resources to problem gamblers are worried that a new generation might get carried away with mobile betting and become problem gamblers.
Jenna Hotaling is Team Leader with the Finger Lakes Problem Gambling Resource Center, a program of the NY Council on Problem Gambling. She says because mobile sports betting is so new in New York, there’s not a lot of hard data, but she says early indications are the apps are attracting people who’ve never placed bets before, particularly young people.
New Yorkers wagered $150 million the first weekend mobile betting became legal. Of course, the biggest sports betting day of the year is coming up. Americans wagered a record $158 million on the Super Bowl in 2018, with one in every 14 people in the US betting on the game.
If you suspect you have a betting problem, here’s where you can get help. Listen to my full conversation with Jenna Hotaling below:
