Laying down a small bet while watching the 49ers can make the game more exciting.
Watching the Academy Awards is spiced up by betting on who will win.

So what’s the problem?

Nothing, unless your loved one is placing hundreds of dollars worth of prop bets or quickly piling up debt. 

According to the National Survey on Gambling Attitudes and Gambling Experiences, 8% of American adults, or 20 million people, admit to having a gambling problem. Scott Galloway, American academic and author at NYU, reports that 10% of American men under the age of 30 admit to having a problem. Galloway goes on to say, “Cell phones have become handheld casinos with a thousand different games to place bets. Casual gamblers are easy prey and almost always lose money compared to professional gamblers who use sophisticated computer systems to refine their bets.”

According to a study by Epic Research from June 2026, states that have legalized sports betting have seen a more than 60% increase in gambling disorder diagnoses. In addition, sports betting companies like FanDuel, prediction market companies like Kalshi are making it seem normal to bet on everything from a coin flip at a football game to how long a ceasefire will last in the Iranian war.

There is clearly a gambling epidemic in the United States. Similar to how pornography escalated the cases of sex addictions, cell phone gambling has exploded the number of people with gambling problems.

So how do you determine if your loved one actually has a gambling issue? I can help you assess the difference between fun wagers and a gambling addiction. The best approach to determine this is to examine the connections between gambling and four key areas in their lives. 

Take a look at the list below:

1. Relationships

2. Career (or schooling)

3. Money

4. Health (both physical and mental)

If you take an honest look at these four categories and whether there is deterioration in one or more of these life areas, then you will know if your loved one has a gambling problem. So, here’s the trick. The only way to know is by looking at the consequences that accompany their gambling. To say it another way, a gambling addict is determined not by the number of bets or the dollar amount wagered, but by the gravity of the consequences that occur while gambling.  

When clients in my private practice request a Gambling Assessment, I put them through this simple exercise.  We examine these four key areas and determine if there is a connection between them and the negative consequences of gambling.

1. Relationships: Has your loved one’s gambling resulted in a deterioration in his/her relationships with you, other family members, friends, neighbors and/or co-workers?

2. Careers (or schooling): Is your loved one’s gambling impacting their ability to live up to their potential at work or school?  More specifically, have they been losing jobs, not getting promotions, or have they been fired?  Are their school grades well below where they should be based on their potential?

3. Health:  Is your loved one often depressed or angry?  Do they have panic attacks?  Do they sleep poorly or have unhealthy eating habits?

4. Money:  Do they spend WAY more on gambling than they have in their budget?

Now here is the scoring system: If there is a strong correlation between gambling and one of these areas, they might have a problem.

If they score a correlation in two areas, they probably have a gambling problem.

If they have three or four correlations, they are a serious gambling addict.   

Here’s a second important question:  Is your loved one’s compulsive gambling driven by the same brain chemistry as problems with alcohol, drugs, pornography, or over-eating? 

The answer is yes.

Gambling addicts have the same disease as the rest of these compulsive groups. All addictions are triggered by the same things;  stress, fear, or anxiety. Constant internal rumination leads all compulsive behaviors towards self-medication.  It doesn’t matter whether it’s vodka, porn, Oreos, or gambling. Compulsive individuals are desperately trying to calm their overactive brains with these self-destructive habits. 

At times it feels like they love gambling more than their family. When in their disease, they lose the ability to understand right and wrong. It seems their moral compass has gone sideways.

But here’s the good news: gambling can be treated by the same approach that works for alcoholics. There’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Today, there are gambling rehabs and spiritual programs of recovery that can be used perfectly in conjunction with therapy.  These programs are hugely successful in helping gamblers get their lives under control and back on track.

If your gut is telling you that your loved one has a problem, don’t wait until the damage becomes too costly both emotionally and financially. You can contact me to discuss a treatment plan for your loved one.  Contact me, and I can help you assess the problem and help you understand the steps to move forward with a treatment plan. 

Goodbye for now.

Max Yusim, LCSW

Gambling addiction specialist