Diagnoses of gambling disorder rose more than 60% since 2018 in states that have legalized sports betting, with the biggest increase among young men, according to a new study of electronic health records across the U.S.Limited time: Save 25% on NBC News subscriptionGet exclusive reporting, live Q&As and ad-free reading.Gambling disorder is a recognized mental health condition in which patients often cannot stop gambling, despite the growing distress and harm they experience.Sports betting has exploded across the U.S.
following a landmark Supreme Court ruling that paved the way for states to legalize online sportsbooks in 2018.Experts say the findings offer more evidence of potential fallout from the decision — at a time when more online betting sites, like prediction markets, are taking off.The rate of gambling disorder in states with legalized sports betting rose from 3.0 per 100,000 to 4.8 per 100,000, according to Epic Research, a private firm known in the medical field for its research on public health trends.
Do you have a story to share with NBC News about problem gambling? You can email Suzy Khimm at [email protected] or message her on Signal: SuzyKhimm.42 You can also contact NBC News securely here.The group also found that diagnoses of gambling disorders fell in the 11 states that did not legalize sports betting, with cases dropping by about 30% from 2018 to March 2026.
Epic’s researchers did not identify a specific reason for the drop.But they noted that changes in health care and the growth of telehealth during the Covid pandemic, as well as greater awareness among health care clinicians and changes in coding practices, may have contributed to some of the differences between states.
Epic Research analyzed records from more than 197 million U.S.adults from January 2018 to March 2026 using data from its parent company, an electronic health software platform used by thousands of hospitals and clinics across the U.S.Adults ages 30 to 49 had...