Mental health experts warn of gambling addiction as New Yorkers bet online for Super Bowl

More than 31 million Americans are expected to bet on this year's Super Bowl and they're all doing it on their phones by clicking on gaming apps.

News 12 Staff

Feb 13, 2022, 5:45 PM

Updated 1,028 days ago

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Mental health experts are warning about gambling addiction as New Yorkers will now be able to bet online for this year’s Super Bowl.
New York has already broken records for the largest population of sports betters in the country.
More than 31 million Americans are expected to bet on this year's Super Bowl and they're all doing it on their phones by clicking on gaming apps.
Sports marketing experts say now that since online gaming is legal in New York, people will bet more than $7 billion on this year's game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Los Angeles Rams.
As a record number of people bet on the Super Bowl using popular gaming apps, it looks like it will be one of the most-bet sporting events in history as states like New York and others have loosened rules on gambling.
But with that in mind, mental health experts say the biggest risk factor with online gaming is now that it's more accessible, therefore making it more dangerous for some people.
"It takes a few clicks, it makes it easy and less work is required in order to engage in it, so that has made it more riskier at this point for some folks who might develop an addiction to gambling," says Manoj Pardasani, Dean of School of Social Work for Adelphi University.
Mental health experts also say men are more likely than women to develop a gambling addiction, and younger male adults with obsessive, risk-taking personalities.