A big question related to problem sports betting is how addiction risks are affected by the frequency of gambling. Findings from the University of Massachusetts Amherst released in August 2024 might shed some light on this topic.
According to UMass Amherst research, people who gamble once or more per month are at a significantly elevated risk of a gambling problem.
A quarter of monthly gamblers were starting to develop problems, while 25.6% of monthly gamblers had gambling addiction.
So, more than half of monthly gamblers have problems—meaning they should abstain from gambling entirely.
Is Betting Monthly Too Much?
Weekly and daily gamblers are at a higher risk than a once-a-month gambler. But the study suggests that monthly gambling could be a threshold that people should be aware of.
This data was for gambling broadly. According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, the rate of problems among sports bettors is at least twice as high as among gamblers in general. As many as 50% of online sports bettors experience problems.
The online bettors who don’t develop problems usually bet on sports just a couple times a year (about 12% of all sports bettors).
Someone who makes a Super Bowl bet or fills out a March Madness bracket—and doesn’t sports gamble at other times during the year—is much more likely to be protected
Of course, those popular betting events are entry points for many problem gamblers.
Bottom line: If you want to keep sports betting as a harmless activity, consider wagering less frequently than monthly. If you have trouble keeping your betting to once a month, consider abstaining from the activity.
Image by Amanda Randolph from Pixabay.
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