Kindbridge Health: The canary in the coal mine

Americans are under growing financial pressure. Nearly half of US adults say they live paycheck to paycheck, up from 40% in 2022. At the same time, the financial environment is becoming faster, more fragmented and more psychologically demanding. Spending happens in seconds through apps, touchless payments and digital wallets. Ads, influencers, and platforms are constantly nudging people to buy now and think later. Even everyday platforms like food delivery apps or streaming services are built around microtransactions and upsells.

At the same time, gambling is increasingly woven into the fabric of everyday digital life. Sports betting, once confined to casinos or sportsbooks, is now just another app on your phone – accessible 24/7, promoted across social media, and often framed as a normal part of watching a game. Yet while gambling has expanded, financial education hasn’t kept pace.

Just 57% of US adults are considered financially literate, meaning nearly half of the population may struggle to understand basic financial concepts like interest, risk and budgeting. That gap leaves many people vulnerable to harm and increases the likelihood that they’ll engage in risky financial behaviors without fully grasping the potential consequences. As the lines blur between entertainment, finance, and risk, gambling operators are now at the center of a rapidly evolving consumer landscape – one that demands new forms of accountability and care.

For many who experience gambling-related financial harm, gambling is not the root issue. It’s a visible symptom of deeper stress beneath the surface. In clinical settings, many who seek help for gambling later learn that they’ve been dealing with untreated mental health challenges like depression, trauma or anxiety. The consequences of coping with deeper challenges through gambling can be severe: people fall behind on rent, drain savings or use credit to fund bets.

The risk of gambling-related financial harms is especially high for those facing systemic challenges, including young people with limited financial literacy, veterans and service members coping with stress, and low-income households using gambling to make ends meet.

Gambling-related financial harm is often the “canary in the coal mine,” but we don’t currently treat it that way. As with other public health issues, early signs like excessive borrowing, risky financial behavior and mounting stress often go unnoticed. The warning signs – overdrafts linked to gambling, recurring payday loans, repeated cash advances – are often visible to banks and lenders, yet without shared frameworks, they go unrecognized. At the same time, healthcare providers may treat the mental health symptoms without ever seeing the financial picture. Prevention starts with understanding, not blame. And it requires coordination across sectors.

That’s the aim of the Financial Stability and Responsible Gambling Initiative, a new national effort led by Kindbridge Research Institute and UCLA. For the first time, leaders from finance, healthcare, research and advocacy are coming together to examine where gambling and financial instability intersect – and how to intervene earlier, more effectively and more equitably. It reflects a public health approach: one focused on root causes, early intervention and smarter systems of support. By drawing on diverse expertise, the initiative will generate research-informed strategies that help prevent harm, support recovery, and guide meaningful policy and practice.

Until now, conversations about gambling harm and financial health have happened in silos. This initiative bridges those gaps, bringing together disciplines that haven’t traditionally worked in partnership, but must.

For the gambling industry, this is a moment of opportunity. As betting becomes more closely tied to financial systems – through credit cards, digital wallets and embedded fintech – there’s a growing responsibility to help protect financial wellbeing. That could mean investing in affordability checks, supporting data-sharing frameworks, or co-developing interventions with public health experts. Financial harm is a real and rising risk. Addressing it proactively isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s also essential to long-term trust, innovation and sustainability.

Financial stress in American households continues to mount, but we don’t have to wait until their gambling spend becomes so noticeably incompatible with wealth building goals or general financial management practices. With collaborative, forward-thinking action, we can protect people’s financial health before widespread damage is done. Let’s treat this issue with the seriousness it deserves – and the shared responsibility it requires.

Carlos Mendez

Writer

Odds tell a story long before the result does. When bettors learn to read that story properly, betting becomes a matter of discipline and value rather than emotion or guesswork.

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