Study Indicates Gambling Addiction Impact Similar to Effects of Drugs, Alcohol and Chronic Conditions

Instead of waiting until individuals seek help for severe gambling problems, researchers urge policymakers to adopt a “whole-population” approach that prioritizes prevention and early risk reduction.

As concerns rise about the increasing number of people becoming addicted to gambling, a new study appears to show a direct correlation between the severity of gambling addiction and the mental and financial harm it does to both the individual, as well as those close to them.

A Great Britain-based group, GambleAware, released a report this month that details the development of a new severity index on the various harms caused by problem gambling across all levels of concern. The researchers then used those tools to examine the financial, physical health and mental health damage caused by different levels of gambling addiction.

In the U.S., gambling addiction rates have skyrocketed following a 2018 Supreme Court ruling in Murphy v. NCAA, which overturned the federal ban on national sports betting. Since then, 39 states and the District of Columbia have legalized sports betting, with 30 jurisdictions allowing gambling through platforms like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Caesars.

Mental health experts nationwide have reported a sharp rise in young men seeking help for sports-betting problems, many sharing similar stories of their path to compulsive gambling, which include being enticed by “risk-free” promotions, in-game betting options and other marketing tactics.

These public health concerns have sparked a series of sports betting addiction lawsuits filed in recent months, each raising allegations that gambling platforms have intentionally used predatory designs to hook new customers, resulting in both mental and financial harms.

For the new study, researchers from the University of Plymouth, the University of Bristol and the National Center for Social Research employed tools to identify harms from other types of addiction, developing what they call the Gambling Harms Severity Index (GHSI), which they describe as a holistic tool set for measuring gambling-related harms.

The research involved data on 4,519 people in Great Britain, including 2,154 who had some level of gambling addiction. They used the GHSI tools to assess the harms of problem gambling like other major health conditions, such as alcoholism or cocaine addiction.

The GHSI is a scale of 1 to 30, with the higher numbers representing individuals experiencing higher levels of gambling harm to their quality of life. A GHSI score of 15 or higher is considered an assessment of severe gambling harm.

Gambling as Harmful as Cocaine, Depression

According to GambleAware’s assessment, which calculated reductions in health-related quality of life and capability, there was a direct correlation between the level of gambling addiction the individual suffered, and the level of gambling harm they experienced. At the more severe levels, the harm was not limited to the individual, but to those around them as well.

“The findings confirm that gambling harms are associated with significant and clinically meaningful reductions in both health utility and capability. Across all models, increasing severity of harm was associated with progressive declines in both wellbeing and capability.”

– GambleAware, The Gambling Harms Severity Index (GHSI): Development of a Holistic Framework and Measurement Instruments for Gambling Related Harms and Recovery

Analysis of the data determined that gambling harms were on par, and similar, to the effects of depression and cocaine addiction in comparison to wellbeing, relationships and resources.

However, there were some differences, with the financial harm greater for those facing gambling addiction. In addition, the report indicates problem gamblers’ mental wellbeing harms were “notably high” when compared to other forms of addiction, such as alcohol, which instead had a higher impact on physical health.

The group assessed that most of Great Britain’s gambling health burden is caused by low or moderate risk individuals who already gamble. The researchers indicated this showed the need for a “whole-population” approach to combat gambling addiction, as opposed to just waiting until someone sought help for experiencing severe harm.

Gambling Addiction Lawsuits

In the U.S., the rising levels of gambling harm have led to a growing number of gambling addiction lawsuits, with most focusing on sports betting sites like FanDuel and DraftKings. Lawyers nationwide are reviewing these claims for individuals across the U.S. who developed gambling addictions after using sports betting apps.

The claims have mostly been filed by college age users who were encouraged to place high-frequency bets, even after showing signs of addiction. Some continued to receive personalized incentives, and marketing offers after requesting account closures or appearing on self-exclusion lists, raising serious concerns about how platforms may exploit vulnerable behavior.

If you or someone you love suffered financial harm from compulsive gambling on these apps, contact a sports gambling lawyer to see if you are eligible to recover losses and hold companies accountable for their potentially addictive design and predatory targeting practices.

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