SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
Betting on sports is now a legal and thriving industry in 39 states, and that is alarming the public health community because even before sports betting took off, 1- to 2% of Americans already struggled with a gambling disorder. Karen Brown at New England Public Media has more.
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KAREN BROWN, BYLINE: When visitors walk into the MGM casino in Springfield, Massachusetts, they may notice, off to one side, the GameSense office. That's a state program to curb problem gambling. There, an employee gives out free luggage tags to get people to stop by. They give out the gambling helpline number, and they can help customers set monthly spending limits if they want.
MARK VANDER LINDEN: That's a big movement in 12 years.
BROWN: Mark Vander Linden oversees the GameSense program for Massachusetts. He says when the first casino opened, they were just starting to tackle gambling problems.
VANDER LINDEN: It was much more about making sure that there are brochures that are available that explained the odds of whatever game it was.
BROWN: Now, gambling companies have to follow some rules, like no sports betting on Massachusetts college teams and no gambling by credit card. But there's no federal guidance or national commission like they have in other countries. So Massachusetts, like every state, is on its own to regulate the industry, especially now that sports betting apps allow you to gamble anywhere and any time.
RICHARD BLUMENTHAL: The sophistication and complexity of betting has become staggering.
BROWN: That's U.S. Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. He's co-sponsor of the SAFE Bet Act, which would impose federal standards on sports gambling, like no advertising during live sports and no tempting bonus bet promotions.
BLUMENTHAL: States are unable to protect their consumers from excessive and abusive offers and sometimes misleading pitches. They simply don't have the resources or the jurisdiction.
BROWN: The gambling industry is lobbying against the bill. Joe Maloney is with the American Gaming Association. He says federal rules would be a slap in the face to state regulators.
JOE MALONEY: You have the potential to just dramatically, one, usurp the state's authority and then, two, freeze the industry in place.
BROWN: He says the industry acknowledges that gambling is addictive for some people, which is why it developed a model called Responsible Gaming. That includes messages warning people to stop playing when it's no longer fun, and reminding them the odds are very low.
MALONEY: And there's very direct messages, such as, you will lose money here.
BROWN: But public health leaders say the industry's Responsible Gaming model just doesn't work.
HARRY LEVANT: You need regulation when the industry has shown an inability and an unwillingness to police itself.
BROWN: Harry Levant studies gambling policy at Northeastern University in Boston. He says the industry approach puts all the blame and responsibility on individuals.
LEVANT: You can't say to a person who is struggling with addiction, well, just don't do that anymore.
BROWN: Levant is recovering from a gambling addiction himself. He says it's true the industry supports treatment for compulsive gamblers, but by then it's too late.
LEVANT: The moral equivalent of big tobacco saying, let us do whatever we want with our cigarettes, as long as we pay for chemotherapy and hospice.
BROWN: Instead, he says there needs to be a public health approach to prevent addiction. That means putting limits on marketing and types of gambling for everyone, not just those already in trouble. To make his case, Levant opens his laptop.
LEVANT: Watch this.
BROWN: He plays a corporate infomercial produced by a DraftKings subsidiary.
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UNIDENTIFIED COMMENTATOR: Touch down.
BROWN: The company goes on to boast about getting more people to gamble on sports through what's called micro betting during live games.
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UNIDENTIFIED NARRATOR: We drive fan engagement by making every moment of every game a betting opportunity - automatic, algorithmic.
BROWN: Levant says that kind of engagement promotes addiction. DraftKings declined to comment. Those concerns are why Levant helped write the SAFE Bet Act, but if it doesn't get through Congress, he says states need to act on their own. For example, a Massachusetts bill would create affordability checks to cap how much money some gamblers can lose. State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa is a co-sponsor.
LINDSAY SABADOSA: If you're only allowed to gamble a hundred dollars a day because that's an affordable amount, you're not going to go broke. You're still going to be able to pay your rent.
BROWN: Even if states pass new rules, sports betting is here to stay. But public health leaders hope that they can still stop the spread of a new kind of gambling - iGaming. That's when you can play roulette or blackjack online. So far, it's legal in seven states.
For NPR News, I'm Karen Brown in Springfield, Massachusetts.
DETROW: That story comes from NPR's partnership with New England Public Media and KFF Health News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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