Could you spot a gambling problem?

Harm from sports betting and prediction markets can hide in plain sight.

How Much Is Too Much?

Money

Instead of thinking about whether a specific dollar amount is too much, think about how you or a friend would answer these questions:

  • Are you betting more than you can afford to lose?

  • When you lose, do you make more bets to try to recoup your losses?

  • Do you need friends and family to loan you money to make up for the losses?

  • Are you increasing your bets to maintain the same level of excitement?

Time

Time is even more precious than money. Consider these questions:

  • Are you checking your sports betting app more and more frequently?

  • Do you find yourself betting for longer periods of time to maintain the same level of excitement?

  • Are you spending more and more time thinking about your next bet or reliving a past bet?

  • Is it hard for you to cut back on betting, even when you’ve told yourself that you will?

Mental Energy

Even when you aren’t actively making a bet, sports betting can take up mental energy. Use these questions to think about how sports betting is impacting you mentally:

  • Is your performance at school suffering because of sports betting?

  • Are you missing out on relationships because of sports betting?

  • Are you losing sleep because of sports betting?

  • Do you feel restless when you aren’t betting?

Self-Assessment →

“What would I tell a friend?

I’d tell them that checking your app constantly, missing out on school or a relationship, or losing sleep could be signs that betting is getting out of control.”

College student
The Life of a College Student

Some of the features of life in college can hide a gambling problem.

Could you spot the problem?

  • asking for a loan because college is expensive vs. asking for a loan because you’ve lost too much betting

  • thinking constantly about your school’s next football game vs. thinking constantly about your next bet

  • feeling restless because you’re looking forward to the next fun event vs. feeling restless because you need to make another bet

  • zoning out on your phone vs. constantly checking betting apps

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