\n<\/p>\n
Public health resources across the US are failing to keep pace with the rapid growth of online gambling, problem health advocates warned, after Donald Trump endorsed the controversial nationwide surge of prediction markets.<\/p>\n
Prediction market platforms, where users can wager on everything from Tony Award winners to World Cup goals, have pushed betting even further into American life.<\/p>\n
Leading brands like Kalshi marketed aggressively around the NBA finals. And Polymarket\u2019s logo was plastered across the cage hosting the UFC fights at the White House last Sunday.<\/p>\n
The contested push of such platforms across the US, including in states that have long prohibited gambling, mean they are now operating \u2013 and heavily advertising their services \u2013 in markets with limited public resources for those who develop problems with gambling.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you expand access and availability and normalization of it, you\u2019re going to have more participation,\u201d said Timothy Fong, an addiction psychiatrist and gambling researcher at UCLA. \u201cWhen you have more participation and engagement in risky products, you\u2019re going to have more problems, you\u2019re going to have more side effects.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the US Supreme Court struck down a longstanding federal ban on sports betting in 2018, the digital gambling industry has boomed. Sports betting now legal in 39 states and Washington DC. And more recently, prediction market platforms have rapidly risen in prominence.<\/p>\n
Companies like Polymarket and Kalshi argue they are not gambling operators, which are typically regulated \u2013 and require approval to operate \u2013 on a state-by-state basis. Instead, they argue they offer \u201cevent derivatives\u201d, overseen at a federal level by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).<\/p>\n
That distinction has so far allowed prediction markets to operate across much of the country, including in states like Utah and Hawaii, where gambling has long been illegal. More than a dozen lawsuits filed in several states are challenging that interpretation, with regulators and lawmakers arguing the platforms should fall under state gambling laws.<\/p>\n
Trump\u2019s administration has been sympathetic to the industry\u2019s argument. And the US president weighed in himself last last month, claiming it to be \u201ccritically important\u201d that the CFTC maintain \u201cexclusive authority\u201d over prediction markets, rather than states. \u201cIt is a major Industry, and we must protect it.\u201d<\/p>\n
A CFTC spokesperson said: \u201cThrough the Commodity Exchange Act, Congress gave exclusive jurisdiction to the CFTC for regulating swaps, including prediction markets, to ensure a federal framework and prevent a patchwork of conflicting state laws.\u201d<\/p>\n
They added: \u201cThe CFTC will defend that jurisdiction against overzealous states that attempt to bypass federal law.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the state legal battles drag on, and as the sector continues to boom, problem gambling experts and advocates warn that gambling addiction is spiraling \u201cout of control\u201d, and that public-health resources are lagging.<\/p>\n
Resources for problem gambling are \u201cphenomenally way way behind\u201d, Fong said. In California, he noted, the state spends about $9m a year to address problem gambling through its Department of Health, but hundreds of millions of dollars a year to address tobacco and alcohol-related harms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe larger question has always been, who\u2019s responsible for help?\u201d Fong said. \u201cWho\u2019s responsible for taking care of the needs of people who develop harm from these products?\u201d.<\/p>\n
The White House said in a statement: \u201cThrough executive actions, supporting legislation like the GENIUS Act, and other common-sense policies, the administration is fulfilling the President\u2019s promise to make the United States the crypto capital of the world by driving innovation and economic opportunity for all Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n
There is currently no dedicated federal funding stream for gambling addiction prevention or treatment. And public funding in states where gambling remains illegal is also often limited or nonexistent.<\/p>\n
In Utah, for example \u2013 home to some of the strongest anti-gambling laws in the US \u2013 there are no federal or state-funded resources dedicated to problem gambling.<\/p>\n
While the state reports compartively low official rates of gambling addiction, some residents are seeking help. And despite opposition to prediction markets from its Republican leaders, they are still operating in the state, with the support of the president.<\/p>\n
The National Council on Problem Gambling\u2019s (NCPG) helpline \u2013 which relies on donations \u2013 has received nearly 18,000 calls from Utah residents since 2016. In May 2025 alone, it recorded 319 calls from Utah, its highest monthly total since 2017. The organization has not yet released numbers for 2026.<\/p>\n
Fong said that the increase is unsurprising given the growth of online betting and prediction markets. He also added that the actual number of people suffering with problem gambling is probably larger.<\/p>\n
Many people who experience harm \u201cnever pick up the phone, never do a Google search\u201d, said Fong. \u201cThey just endure. They just suffer quietly.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cole Wogoman, the NCPG\u2019s director of government relations and league partnerships, said its helpline can \u201conly offer resources if the resources are there\u201d in relevant states.<\/p>\n
In Utah, he said, the organization may offer callers budgeting guidance, and information about peer-support groups and telehealth counseling services, which often require health insurance. But little else.<\/p>\n
Gamblers Anonymous only has one in-person meeting in Utah, located in St. George, although virtual meetings have expanded access since the pandemic.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven though there\u2019s no legalized gambling in Utah, it doesn\u2019t mean that people aren\u2019t still gambling,\u201d said Michael C, a Gamblers Anonymous trustee, whose district includes parts Utah. Michael said that he also considers things like \u201cday trading and stocks\u201d as a form of gambling \u201cbecause you have no if you don\u2019t have any control of the outcome\u201d.<\/p>\n
While some users of prediction markets may see the platforms as a form of entertainment or investing, and the companiesthemselves argue they are not technically gambling platforms. Fong, the psychiatrist, said he had \u201cno doubt that many aspects of the offerings inside prediction markets are gambling\u201d.<\/p>\n
A recent NCPG survey found 45% Americans believe that prediction markets are comparable to gambling, while 27% said they are most similar to investing. The survey also found that 85% believe users can develop unhealthy or addictive behavior related to the platforms.<\/p>\n
Elliott Rapaport, founder and CEO of Birches Health, which offers online therapy for gambling addiction recovery nationwide, said any activity \u201ccombines money, uncertainty and risk\u201d can lead to \u201ccompulsive behaviors\u201d for some users. \u201cIt\u2019s very important to have the state social infrastructure, because otherwise people end up getting hurt,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Rapaport said Birches has seen \u201cincreased outreach\u201d from people in states where gambling is not technically legal \u201cbecause you don\u2019t have the state safety net, and the state access to care there\u201d.<\/p>\n
Lawmakers need to realize their constituents \u201care gambling, they\u2019re sports betting, they\u2019re engaging in at risky, compulsive trading behaviors, no matter whether or not these are things are legal\u201d, Rapaport said.<\/p>\n
While many states with legal gambling fund state problem gambling resources through tax revenue from state-licensed casinos or sportsbooks, Wogoman said states without it could still allocate funds resources through their general budgets.<\/p>\n
Calls for a nationwide intervention continue. The NCPG has backed the Points Act, introduced in Congress in March, which would create the first federal funding stream for gambling addiction prevention and treatment resources.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s long past due to the federal government takes this addiction seriously,\u201d said Wogoman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Public health resources across the US are failing to keep pace with the rapid growth of online gambling, problem health advocates warned, after Donald Trump endorsed the controversial nationwide surge of prediction markets. Prediction market platforms, where users can wager on everything from Tony Award winners to World Cup goals, have pushed betting even further<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[5472,634,13461,6303,37,2884,150,1427,177,694,2229],"class_list":{"0":"post-50547","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-advocates","9":"tag-call","10":"tag-combat","11":"tag-gambling","12":"tag-health","13":"tag-markets","14":"tag-news","15":"tag-prediction","16":"tag-public","17":"tag-support","18":"tag-surge"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50547","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=50547"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/50547\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/50548"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=50547"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=50547"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/naijaglobalnews.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=50547"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}