At NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell’s Super Bowl press conference, the commissioner smiled and laughed with host Tracy Wolfson as they marveled at this year’s host city. Las Vegas, Wolfson noted, “was taboo for so many decades with the NFL” because of its association with sports betting.
I wonder if Goodell would have smiled if he had a family member who was a compulsive gambler. Nearly 68 million Americans plan to bet on this year’s Super Bowl, according to research firm Eilers & Krejcik Gaming. The firm projects that 1 in 4 U.S. adults will wager a staggering $23.1 billion, after $16 billion in bets last year. Of those 68 million, I wonder how many future addicted gamblers will place their first-ever bet on this game. Super Bowl Sunday for a compulsive gambler is like New Year’s Eve for an alcoholic. Nearly 7 million Americans suffer from gambling addiction, and since the Supreme Court legalized the practice in 2018, states and sportsbooks have cashed in.
Over the years, I have helped many college and professional athletes who had a gambling problem. One had a few Super Bowl rings.
I know what it’s like to be laid low by gambling addiction. I began betting on sports and horses as a teenager; by 1961, in my mid-20s and fresh off Army Reserve duty, I owed $4,000 and had no job. I was lucky that credit cards did not exist, or else my debts would have been even larger. Again and again, I resolved to stop, only to quickly return to the action. By the time I did finally stop, in 1968, I owed my yearly pay three times over.
In the decades since, my wife, Sheila, and I have helped compulsive gamblers and made presentations on gambling addiction to local officials and gaming companies. Over the years, I have helped many college and professional athletes who had a gambling problem. One had a few Super Bowl rings.
But the rise in sports gambling on the internet and phone has accelerated the prevalence of gambling addiction. The ease with which people can access…
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