A Brief Guide To What You Need To Know About Sports Gambling Apps, Sports Gambling Addiction, And Legal Remedies

Every year, major sporting events like the Super Bowl drive billions of dollars in wagers. Odds are most of those bets will be placed on legal sports gambling websites or apps called “sportsbooks.” Examples include but are not limited to BetMGM, DraftKings, FanDuel, Bet365, Fanatics, and Caesars. Of these, DraftKings is the most accessible, with availability to eligible users in 27 states. Fanatics and Caesars are each available to qualified users in 24 states.

These sportsbooks don’t just cater to NFL fans during the Super Bowl. They also provide a gambling forum for sports enthusiasts throughout the year. In addition to professional football, for example, FanDuel users can bet on professional baseball, basketball and ice hockey. But that’s not all. They can also bet on college sports, professional soccer, and even the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

And that’s the problem, according to professionals specializing in sports gambling addiction.

In this article, the sports gambling addiction attorneys at Van Law Firm will explain what sports gambling addiction actually is, and how apps and online sportsbooks create or exacerbate it. We will also share legal remedies that may be available to you if you are a loved one developed a sports gambling addiction that led to significant financial losses after using an online sportsbook or app.

Defining Sports Gambling Addiction

Let’s begin by discussing how can you tell if you or someone else is addicted to betting on sports by using an app or online sportsbook. You or a loved one may be officially diagnosed with this type of addiction if you or they keep betting regularly even though doing so results in abject misery and you or they meet at least four of the following nine criteria:

• Have a need to bet more and more to feel good or satisfied.
• Feel grumpy when refraining from betting on sports.
• Feel unable to control or reduce the amount of time and money spent on sports gambling.
• Become fixated on gambling on sports.
• Lie to friends, family, co-workers and others about betting on sports.
• Ask friends, family, co-workers and others to borrow money.
• Continue betting on sports to “make up” for lost wagers.
• Put a job, career, marriage, or any other important relationship or opportunity at risk by gambling on sports.

In some cases, becoming addicted to sports gambling causes people to incur significant debt and engage in criminal activity, such as stealing from their families, friends, or employers. In others, sports gambling addicts fueled by desperation and hopelessness may hurt themselves or their loved ones. In fact, experts say gambling in general can affect not only families but also communities. They also say It increases the risk of suicide and domestic violence.

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How The Use Of Online Sportsbooks Or Apps Exacerbates Sports Gambling Addiction

Like other types of addiction, gambling addiction in general and sports gambling addiction in particular, can be linked to complex physiological processes. Specifically, it can be linked to the abnormal activity occurring in certain parts of the human brain when we constantly crave satisfaction or happiness derived from winning bets.

Research indicates that while sports gambling addiction can strike anyone, certain demographics—particularly young men between 18 and 30—are frequently targeted.

Experts also say that there is a demonstrated correlation between the legalization of online gambling in the United States – which happened less than 10 years ago – and greater proliferation of “irresponsible or risky gambling.” Sadly, they explain, this correlation is especially prevalent in lower-income populations that are least equipped to absorb losses. In this context, mental health and addiction specialists note that young people are at greater risk of developing problematic sports betting habits. One reason for this is that they tend to spend a lot of time online, and may come across gambling influencers and “risk-free” promotions there. Additional reasons are that that their reward sensitivity is amplified and their executive control has not yet matured, leading to greater impulsivity.

Online sportsbooks and apps can reportedly cause or exacerbate an addiction to betting on sports by doing just two things. First, they make gambling easily accessible around the clock. Secondly, they allow users to place small bets on different aspects of a game one after another very quickly. For example, users can bet on which team will win the coin toss, which team will score first, and so on. They can then combine all of these wagers or “micro bets” into one big bet known as a “parlay” that is incredibly enticing because it carries potentially significant winnings. The only trouble is that these parlays don’t usually pay off, however.

Even more alarmingly, as Heather Wardle, a policy researcher studying gambling at the University of Glasgow told Scientific American last year, online sportsbooks and apps can monitor each user’s activity. Doing so allows them to gather data on individual betting patterns and use it to create personal offers or “promotions” geared to each person.

Sports Gambling Addicts May Be Able To Sue Online Sportsbooks And Apps

If you incurred overwhelming debt after using online sportsbooks or apps to place bets on sporting events, you may be able to sue the platform in question. Specifically, you may have a valid case if you are between 18 and 30 years old and you have incurred at least $100,000 in debt or medical treatment due to serious injury after using an online sportsbook or app such as:

• FanDuel
• DraftKings
• BetMGM
• Caesars
• ESPN Bet
• Bet365
• Fanatics Sportsbook
• PointsBet
• Barstool Sportsbook
• Hard Rock Bet

Lawsuits already filed on behalf of people who allegedly developed crushing sports gambling debt after using some of these online sports books and apps level two key accusations against the companies that run them. The first is that they used misleading marketing strategies and promotions to hide the real risks associated with using their platforms. The second is that that their apps include features purposefully created to trigger and prolong “addictive gambling behaviors.”

According to an article published on aboutlawsuits.com, claims made by families who either witnessed suicidal behavior stemming from gambling addiction facilitated by these apps or actually lost a relative to suicide have also been evaluated.

To learn more about the legal recourse that may be available to you, contact the sports gambling addiction lawyers at Van Law Firm to schedule a free consultation today.