Predatory Designs of Mobile Sports Betting Apps Linked to Rising Gambling Addiction Rates

As sportsbooks spread to 38 states and billions were wagered, online searches for gambling addiction help skyrocketed, signaling a public health crisis.

As legalized sports betting has spread across the U.S., new data shows a sharp rise in the need for gambling addiction-related help, particularly in states that legalized online sportsbooks, suggesting that the platforms’ predatory designs may be fueling harmful, compulsive behaviors.

The findings come from a study published in the April 2025 edition of JAMA Internal Medicine, which analyzed nationwide Google search activity from 2016 to 2024, and found a 23% increase in searches for gambling addiction support after the legalization of sports betting, with even higher spikes in states that introduced mobile betting apps.

The expansion of sports betting began after the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Murphy v. NCAA, which overturned the federal ban and allowed states to legalize sportsbooks. Since then, 38 states have authorized sports betting, with wagers surging from $4.9 billion in 2017, to more than $121 billion by 2023. The overwhelming majority, 94%, were placed through mobile or online platforms, highlighting just how deeply digital sportsbooks have become embedded in everyday consumer behavior.

While the legalization was framed by many as an economic win, recent studies and watchdog reports have found that major sportsbooks have not only designed their platforms to foster addiction, but have lobbied against basic gambling addiction safeguards.

These apps include psychologically manipulative features like rapid in-game betting, personalized promotions, and flashy “risk-free” offers that often mislead users. Marketing efforts have also been disproportionately aimed at college students and young adults, populations with limited financial literacy, resulting in a surge of compulsive betting behaviors and mounting debt.

As public awareness grows, sports betting addiction lawsuits are now being filed against platforms like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Caesars, each raising allegations that these apps were intentionally engineered to encourage compulsive gambling, targeting financially vulnerable individuals through behavioral tracking, gamified reward systems and failure to honor self-exclusion requests. Plaintiffs claim they incurred massive financial losses while companies prioritized user retention and profit over consumer safety.

In this new study, data scientist Atharva Yeola, BS and a team of researchers tracked changes in gambling addiction help-seeking by analyzing internet search trends as a real-time indicator of public concern.

The team analyzed aggregated Google search data between January 1, 2016, and June 30, 2024, tracking queries per 10 million searches that included keywords like “gambling addiction,” “anonymous” and “hotline.” The study compared pre- and post-legalization trends at both the national and state levels.

The findings revealed a 23% nationwide increase in searches related to gambling addiction after the Murphy decision, with spikes significantly larger in states that introduced online sportsbooks. Notably, the rollout of mobile platforms had a stronger correlation with addiction-related searches than physical betting locations.

State-Level Spikes in Gambling Addiction Help-Seeking

The states with the most dramatic increases in addiction-related search activity following sportsbook legalization included:

• Pennsylvania: 50% increase
• Massachusetts: 47% increase
• New York: 37% increase
• New Jersey: 34% increase

These spikes suggest that access to mobile sportsbooks, not just legalization, was a key driver of increased addiction-related behaviors in those regions.

The study’s authors, including researchers from Harvard and NYU, warned that the data likely reflects only the early stages of a broader wave of gambling-related harm. They emphasized that the widespread legalization of digital sportsbooks has created a growing public health concern that demands immediate action from lawmakers, regulators and public health officials.

“The results of this time series study suggest that access to sportsbooks, sports wagers, and potential help-seeking for gambling addiction increased substantially and highlight the need to address the health implications of sportsbooks, including recognition and treatment of gambling problems and their broader societal implications”, the authors stated.

Sports Betting Addiction Lawsuit: May 2025 Update

Amid mounting evidence that online sportsbooks contribute to gambling addiction and financial devastation, lawyers are actively reviewing sports gambling addiction lawsuits for individuals between the ages of 18 and 30 who developed compulsive betting behaviors and lost $10,000 or more using platforms like DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Caesars.

These lawsuits allege that betting apps are intentionally designed to foster addiction, using behavioral tracking, in-game prompts and deceptive promotions to encourage high-frequency wagering. In some cases, users continued receiving targeted incentives and promotional offers even after attempting to self-exclude or close their accounts, raising serious concerns about the industry’s disregard for vulnerable users.

If you or a loved one suffered financial or emotional harm due to compulsive gambling on sportsbook apps, legal action may help recover your losses and hold gambling companies accountable for predatory practices. Sports gambling lawyers offer free case evaluations.