Clinicians in New York raise concerns over gambling addiction

Social stigma has prevented players from seeking treatment.

New York State clinicians have addressed a concern that players throughout the state are turning away from gambling addiction treatment services, according to a Times Union local report.

Helio Health gambling treatment counselor Susan Browne told local news that fewer calls are coming into the center.

She said, “There’s more methods of gambling, yet I’m getting less and less phone calls.

“I think there will come a time that the floodgates open, but at this point, it just appears that folks are not seeking the help that’s available.” 

Browne added that the expanding mobile sports wagering market around the state “has intensified the problem.”

New York embraced a legal mobile sports betting market nearly three years ago.

With the growing market and increasing use of mobile sports betting apps, clinicians have attributed the decline in gambling disorder treatment use to “the social stigma that still surrounds problem gambling.”

Good to know: Since the launch, the Empire State has taken in billions of dollars in wagers; November’s figures speak volumes

New York Council on Problem Gambling Executive Director Jim Maney commented, “We brought gambling onto an apparatus that they knew how to control, and it was a perfect marriage.

“Being on a phone app is no different from being on Instagram or Snapchat or TikTok. Now you’re on a gambling app. It’s all the same thing.”

To date, 38 states have embraced regulated sports betting since the US Supreme Court overturned the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act of 1992 (PASPA) in May 2018, also known as the Bradley Act.

During October, the Empire State set a new high for its sports wagering handle, which reached $2.32bn.

Laura Mack

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