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March 11, 2026<\/p>\n
2 min read<\/p>\n
Add Us On Google<\/span>Add SciAm<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Sports gambling could be boosting binge drinking in young men<\/p>\n Men aged 35 or younger who already drink heavily may be even more likely to binge alcohol because of legal online sports betting, a new study has found<\/p>\n By Claire Cameron edited by Clara Moskowitz<\/span><\/p>\n Online sports betting is driving some young men to binge drink more than ever, a new study finds. The results add to the mounting evidence that to the legalization of online sports gambling and apps could \u201chave spillover effects beyond gambling itself,\u201d says Keshar Ghimire, the study\u2019s senior author and an economist at the University of Cincinnati.<\/p>\n Since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on sports gambling in 2018, the industry has exploded. Americans wagered nearly $41 billion on sports betting in the first quarter of 2025 alone, according to one estimate. At its epicenter is young men: a 2024 U.S. survey found that one in four men aged 30 or younger gamble on sports online. And as the market has grown, scientists and public health advocates have become increasingly alarmed that young men who participate in sports betting may be at a heightened risk of negative physical and mental health consequences.<\/p>\n In the new study, Ghimire and his co-author found that men with a history of binge drinking\u2014defined for men in the study as consuming five or more drinks in one sitting\u2014had a 10 percent increase in the frequency of binge drinking, on average, after online sports betting became legal in their state.<\/p>\n If you’re enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.<\/p>\n Gambling apps or websites are designed to make it hard to click away, and bars are popular settings for watching sports. These factors may combine to put men at increased risk.<\/p>\n \u201cOnline sports betting differs from traditional gambling because it is immediate, continuous, and easily accessible through smartphones,\u201d Ghimire says. \u201cThat accessibility may make it easier for gambling to occur in settings where alcohol consumption is already common, such as watching live sports.\u201d<\/p>\n He adds, however, that the research \u201cidentifies the causal link but does not directly test the behavioral mechanisms behind it.\u201d<\/p>\n Importantly, the study relies on participants self-reporting on how much they drink. That \u201ccould mean that the true level of consumption\u2014and possibly the magnitude of the increase\u2014is somewhat higher than what appears in the survey data,\u201d Ghimire says.<\/p>\n Ultimately, Ghimire says the study could help local policymakers target responsible gambling messaging at young men. Currently, online sports betting is legal in 31 states and Washington, D.C.<\/p>\n If you enjoyed this article, I\u2019d like to ask for your support. Scientific American<\/span> has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve been a Scientific American<\/span> subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm <\/span>always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.<\/p>\n If you subscribe to Scientific American<\/span>, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.<\/p>\n In return, you get essential news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-watch videos, challenging games, and the science world’s best writing and reporting. You can even gift someone a subscription.<\/p>\n There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science matters. I hope you\u2019ll support us in that mission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" March 11, 2026 2 min read Add Us On GoogleAdd SciAm Sports gambling could be boosting binge drinking in young men Men aged 35 or younger who already drink heavily may be even more likely to binge alcohol because of legal online sports betting, a new study has found By Claire Cameron edited by Clara<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":46516,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58],"tags":[23547,14290,1612,6303,1329,992,801],"class_list":{"0":"post-46515","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-science","8":"tag-binge","9":"tag-boosting","10":"tag-drinking","11":"tag-gambling","12":"tag-men","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-young"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=46515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/46516"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=46515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=46515"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=46515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}On supporting science journalism<\/h2>\n
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