ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY — Ten percent of young men in the United States exhibit behaviors indicative of a gambling problem, compared to 3 percent of the general population, a new study finds.
The Fairleigh Dickinson University survey comes as the National Council on Problem Gambling reviewed gambling laws in every U.S. state, finding that protections for customers from developing or worsening gambling problems vary widely and could be improved everywhere.
“Gambling is generally presented as entertainment, and for most gamblers, that’s all it is,” said Dan Cassino, a professor of government and policy at Fairleigh Dickinson and executive director of the survey, which was released Thursday. “But there’s always a risk that gambling can turn into problematic behavior, and online gambling is far more dangerous than other types of gambling.”
He said the risks “are closely related to online sports betting and online slots.”
Arnie Wexler, a well-known advocate for people with gambling problems and former director of the New Jersey Council on Compulsive Gambling, said young people and their parents constantly contact him for help. He was not involved in the investigation.
“All this gambling is addicting a lot of people, especially a lot of young people,” Wexler said. “What’s happening today has become insane. We are a nation of addicted gamblers.”
The survey asked respondents to complete the Problem Gambling Severity Index, a battery of nine questions that asked about several indications of problem gambling behaviors, such as borrowing money to gamble or saying their gambling has caused financial or emotional problems.
Twenty-four percent of men reported at least one problematic behavior, but that figure rises to 45% for men aged 30 and under.
A person is generally considered to have a problem if they score 8 or higher on the index. Only 3% of men have a score that indicates a gambling problem, but this figure rises to 10% of men aged 18 to 30 and 7% of women in the same age range.
The national survey of 801 registered voters, conducted between August 17 and 20, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
The gaming industry has adopted responsible gaming standards, which include allowing individuals to set limits on their deposits, withdrawals and overall gaming activity, prominently placing telephone numbers and web addresses of gambling helplines on their products and adopting certain voluntary limits on advertising.
The National Council on Problem Gambling reviewed gambling laws in each state, checking how well they align with the most effective player protections in the group’s Responsible Internet Gambling Standards.
The council’s report, released Thursday, found that Connecticut, New Jersey and Virginia are most aligned with the standards, meeting 49 of 82.
Ten states and Washington, D.C., met 40 or more standards: Colorado, Connecticut, the District of Columbia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Virginia.
Nine states met between 25 and 39 standards: Arizona, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon and Vermont.
And 11 states met between 10 and 24 standards: Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Nevada, Rhode Island, West Virginia and Wyoming.
“This report reflects the patchwork nature of existing regulations and significant gaps in consumer protection,” said Keith Whyte, the group’s executive director. “We urge lawmakers and regulators to take immediate action to close these gaps and work to mitigate gambling-related harms.”
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