Chasing Losses: When Online Gambling Becomes More Than A Game

North Carolina has multiple professional sports teams, ranging from the NHL to the NBA, as well as a strong presence in collegiate sports. The love of sports and enthusiasm made the state a top focus for numerous regulated gambling businesses. In the summer of 2023, then-Gov. Roy Cooper approved legislation authorizing online sports betting, allowing fans to place bets online beginning in March 2024.

As income from bets climbed, so did calls to the North Carolina Problem Gambling Helpline, which averaged more than twice the number of calls since legalization. In September 2024, it was stated that clinical calls for treatment or assistance had increased by 34%.

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According to the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, about 5.5% of adults and 10% of children in North Carolina have gambling issues, which have an impact on families and communities.

The North Carolina Problem Gambling Program has boosted the hotline funding for fiscal year 2025 to support prevention grants, treatment money, and research initiatives. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services has formed a cooperation with the Gambling Research & Policy Initiative (GRPI). The GRPI, based at East Carolina University, focuses on gambling knowledge, behaviour, risk, and gaming-related problems. It also looks at historically marginalized and understudied communities and their relationship with gambling.

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