“NCAA student-athletes in most sports report negative or threatening messages from sports bettors. Some sports, like tennis, experience this at more alarming rates.
According to NCAA data released in January 2026, 22% of men’s Division I tennis players reported receiving these types of messages in 2025. This rate is higher than in any other sport except basketball, where a staggering 46% of men’s DI players reported the same experience.” – Brian Pempus, GamblingHarm.org
As part of his investigation into sports betting, Atlantic journalist McKay Coppins gambled $10,000 during last NFL season. He spoke with co-host Tonya Mosley about his experiment, what he learned, and what the explosion of betting is doing to society. “It’s turning all of American life into a Las Vegas table game. There’s always this kind of glittering mirage of profit that you’re chasing, when, in reality, it’s designed to sort of demoralize and crush every regular person who plays.” They also talk about how betting has expanded to politics and international conflict.
https://www.npr.org/2026/03/12/nx-s1-5745835/inside-the-explosive-growth-of-sports-betting
Kalshi and Polymarket pour money into deals with social-media
influencers and students, who try to parlay rumors into cash; ‘We
know this shouldn’t be allowed’
With the rise of gambling across the United States, harms have increased significantly. This study analyzes the increased exposure of youth and adults to messaging, content, and access to online gambling, and the harm it creates. While kids are exposed to gambling through television, sports, and video games, parents remain relatively unaware of the harm that exposure to this industry is having on their children. Online gambling removes the friction that tends to slightly mitigate harms, making it much more accessible and therefore, dangerous.
Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and gambling are considered notable public health challenges, each linked to emotion dysregulation, impulsivity, and heightened mental health risks. Although examined separately, their co-occurrence may reflect overlapping vulnerabilities. The present study examined the prevalence, correlates, and predictors of NSSI among individuals who gamble online and identified distinct behavioral subgroups using latent class analysis.
Despite a mountain of evidence, states continue to partner with powerful gambling corporations to promote ever more extreme forms of commercialized gambling in our homes and communities.
This urgent online forum confronts the hard questions:
• Who is benefiting from the massive amount of gambling harm occurring across the United States?
• What does science tell us about the connection between gambling and suicide?
• Why is there so little accountability?
• What can concerned citizens and organizations do to help change the tide?
Watch the important discussion featuring:
State Senator Julie Mayfield (D-NC)
State Senator André Jacque (R-WI)
Dr. Kavita Fischer
Ronda Hatefi
Together, these leaders and experts examine the public health, policy, and ethical implications of the rapid expansion of predatory gambling — and what must be done to protect families and communities.
PETERSBURG, Va. (WRIC) — One month since the much-anticipated casino opened in Petersburg, nearby business owners say they still haven’t seen the new customers they were promised.
Since it opened on Jan. 22, the Live! Casino off Wagner Road has generated millions of dollars and brought in tens of thousands of guests. But the local business owners who were assured they’d see a boost say the casino hasn’t brought them any customers.
Most stories about gambling addiction focus on men. But as the popularity of online betting explodes, women are also navigating this challenge in new ways.
https://www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a69988971/rise-of-gambling-addiction-women/
“Anyone raising a son is all too familiar with the rhythms of digital life. Between the nonstop notifications, ceaseless social media scrolling, and late-night gaming sessions, boys are figuring out who they are online. Parents love to see their sons connect, but they’re uneasy, too. And the data backs up their concern.
Our newest research reveals that gambling has become common among adolescent boys, with more than a third of boys gambling before they turn 18.
In “Betting on Boys: Understanding Gambling Among Adolescent Boys,” our second report about boys’ online lives, we discovered that for boys today, gambling largely doesn’t happen at casinos or card tables. It lives in sports betting and inside boys’ favorite video games—in loot boxes, skin cases, and other reward systems that blur the line between playing and paying—and it’s showing up in their social media feeds through algorithmic recommendations. Nearly half of boys who gamble see online material that promotes gambling, mostly through algorithmic exposure.
Our research makes clear that we’re at a pivotal moment for boys’ well-being. We can either let gambling become normalized during a critical period of their development, or we can act now—with education, safeguards, and real accountability.”
Click the link below to access the full report.
