Sports betting in Minnesota: Are we ready?

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Minnesotans love their sports, with an abundance of dollars going into professional, high school and collegiate athletics. Embedded in our lives and identities, sports occupy a seat at social hours, workplaces and family gatherings. Immersion in the game provides a welcome distraction. It frames a dinner conversation or a group text. Near-misses bolster confidence in predicting momentary outcomes and support our perception of skill. More people than ever may be exposed to sports betting due to a ubiquitous sports culture and increased availability. For some, sports may be a first entry to gambling.

As a mother of two boys (one a teenager), I have a front-row seat to sports culture in Minnesota and its embeddedness in families, schools and youth groups. As a clinical psychologist and professor, I contribute to research and prevention efforts addressing gambling and other addictive behaviors. According to reports, there is bipartisan support at the Legislature for passing a sports-gambling bill this year. Minnesota is positioned to enter the sports betting market during a record expansion and shows signs of being an important market for sportsbooks if it joins the 38 other legalized states. A captive audience of Minnesota sports fans will have more gambling opportunities and a new frontier of mobile gambling.

One of the oldest forms of entertainment, sports betting has evolved. A front-runner in the gambling stratosphere, sportsbooks are responsive to consumer demands and represent an increasingly popular flavor of online gambling. Minute-by-minute microtransactions drive user engagement. Artificial-intelligence algorithms enable sportsbooks to provide custom content in response to behavioral input. You can now pair your love of sports with an AI-driven behaviorally responsive microtransaction platform offering real-time enhanced predictive analytics. Efforts are underway to use AI in behavioral risk detection and industry-driven responsible gambling efforts.

Advertising spend is increasing with bigger, catchier incentives. First-time offers may lure young people and new players. Quoting from one ad: “Bet 5, get a 150 in bonus bets.” BetUS advertised a traveling Travis Kelce look-alike who would visit your Super Bowl party for $1,500, combining novelty, celebrity and social gathering while serving its brand upfront.

Most Americans engage in gambling without significant problems, although some experience gambling-related harms. Gambling-related problems are climbing nationally, as documented by the National Survey of Gambling Attitudes and Gambling Experiences and by Time magazine (see tinyurl.com/ncpg-survey and tinyurl.com/time-gambling). The National Council on Problem Gambling recently commissioned a large-scale national survey of adults. The rates of individuals who showed signs of problem gambling increased from 2018 to 2021 (7% to 11%). Participants engaging in any sports betting and fantasy sports on average exhibited higher rates of problem gambling. Online gambling participation increased from 15% in 2018 to 25% in 2021. In sum, 25 million more people were gambling online in 2021 than in 2018. Younger adults had more issues with gambling problems. One-quarter of those under the age of 35 reported frequently experiencing at least one problematic play behavior, compared with 3% of those 55 or older.

With a colleague at McGill University (Jérémie Richard), I published a recent comprehensive review of studies on young people (tinyurl.com/youth-gambling). Novel betting behaviors in childhood predicted later risk for problem gambling. Activities with gambling-like features (e.g., video games, social casino games and loot boxes) were associated with later problem gambling. Increased involvement with novel forms of gambling (e.g., online sports betting, fantasy sports and e-sports betting) was associated with greater risk for problematic gambling. It is yet unclear if sports betting predicts gambling problems in youth, but online gambling is a risk factor. We do not yet know if wide-scale accessibility to sports betting will increase risk for adult or youth problem gambling.

The Minnesota Alliance on Problem Gambling funded a project examining a large epidemiological Minnesota data set on youth gambling. With colleagues Katharine Adamyk, Jasper Weinburd (Hamline University) and Randy Stinchfield (emeritus, University of Minnesota Medical School), we examined the Minnesota Student Survey, a survey of more than 80,000 Minnesota public school students conducted by the Minnesota Department of Education. It found that 32.5% of Minnesota students in grades eight, nine and 11 have gambled in the past year (42.3% of boys, 23.2%% of girls), and that 8% gambled frequently — that is, once a week or more often (11.9% of boys, 4.3% of girls). This is one of few places in the country where we can track gambling trends in young people over many years.

In newly legalized states like Minnesota, we may see an increase in youth betting and sports betting drawing in newer gamblers. As in other states, there may be an increase in calls to the problem gambling hotlines and a greater demand for treatment or prevention services. Certain populations such as younger men, veterans and athletes may be at greater risk. Minority populations are disproportionately affected, therefore there is a need for culturally and linguistically appropriate service providers. Currently there is a shortage of gambling counselors in our state and a dearth of health care providers with gambling expertise. Problem gambling is often linked to overwhelming guilt and shame, leading to decreased help-seeking.

Problem gambling has been associated with one of the highest suicide risks of any mental health disorder or addiction, and rates of lifetime attempts around 13.2%.

With the possible inevitability of future sports betting legalization, Minnesota should increase investments in treatment, prevention, outreach and harm reduction resources. Efforts should include young people, families and adults at risk, particularly athletes. Greater efforts to protect those at risk for high-risk gambling during high-profile sporting events, which may also be tied to seasonal patterns of playoffs and championships. There may be value in providing resources for gamblers to plan for and prevent some harmful effects of alcohol on decisionmaking while wagering. Spreading awareness of self-exclusion tools and apps may also be useful to some groups.

Problem gambling treatment is fully paid for eligible Minnesotans, and you can find providers at the Minnesota Alliance for Problem Gambling website (mnapg.org). There are also several self-screening tools and resources. BetBlocker and Gamban (voluntary self-exclusion apps) can be accessed from your mobile device and PC. Visit the Minnesota Alliance for Problem Gambling website to request access to these tools. Gamesense is an educational program focusing on responsible gambling behaviors. For help with gambling problems in yourself or a loved one, call the Minnesota Problem Gambling Helpline at 800-333-4673 (HOPE) or Text HOPE to 53342. There is also support for financial losses and other gambling-related harms.