How to Know if Your Online Sports Gambling Is Becoming a Problem and Why It Matters for Your Health

While it may not seem high-stakes, online sports betting is a type of gambling and comes with unique risks, experts say.

“Whether it’s a slot machine in Vegas or on my phone, the product itself is still just as dangerous,” says Timothy Fong, MD, professor of psychiatry at UCLA and co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program in Los Angeles. The difference now is that the product is always accessible.

For some people, that constant access is dangerous.

The health risks of online sports gambling are the same as those associated with traditional betting at brick-and-mortar casinos, says Sara Polley, MD, a child, adolescent, adult, and addiction psychiatrist at Vantage Mental Health in Stillwater, Minnesota.

But the increased accessibility of online platforms may lead to more people developing mental health issues like the following, as a result, she explains. Still, more research is needed to determine if people who gamble online are at higher risk than those who place their bets in person.

• Gambling Disorder People who participate in online sports betting can develop a gambling disorder, which can cause cravings and withdrawal symptoms, like drug addiction. Many people with gambling disorder have comorbid substance use disorders, compulsive behaviors (such as problematic shopping), or other mental health disorders.

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• Binge Drinking Research suggests that the introduction of online sports betting in the United States led to a significant uptick in alcohol misuse among men ages 35 and under.

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   Young men aren’t the only ones at risk. Anyone who participates in sports betting is at an increased risk of misusing alcohol and other substances, according to a systematic review.

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• Anxiety Gambling can cause anxiety.

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   The authors of a paper on the public health implications of online sports betting, published in 2026 in JAMA Health Forum, wrote about the systemic barriers that keep people with gambling disorder from getting the help they need. “Surveillance, detection, and treatment access lag far behind product access,” the authors wrote. As a result, they theorize that psychiatrists are likely seeing more patients whose anxiety is linked to online sports betting.

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• Depression Depression and problematic gambling have a bidirectional relationship, meaning they influence each other, Dr. Polley says. She points to some research that suggests that people with gambling problems at age 17 are more likely to develop depression by age 23.

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   At the same time, some research suggests 17-year-olds with depressive symptoms are more likely to develop gambling problems by age 23.

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   The shame of losing a lot of money gambling could worsen symptoms of depression.

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• Suicide Gambling in general has been established as an important contributor to suicide risk for some individuals.

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   Researchers note that more investigations on the link between suicide and online betting are crucial since this area of research is still in its infancy.

Gambling online can be much easier than going to a physical casino. “It does kind of limit the barriers to gambling because it’s so easy to be on your phone,” says Mark Meiselbach, PhD, an assistant professor in the department of Health Policy and Management at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore and an author of the JAMA Health Forum paper.

Some people with a gambling disorder struggle with a psychological phenomenon called the “near-miss effect,” where a person loses a bet but believes they were close to winning.

People who engage in online sports betting may keep placing bets after a substantial financial loss due to the near-miss effect, Polley says. “When they don’t end up getting the payout and winning, there’s this drive within their brain to keep going, even though it’s not logical,” she explains.

This can be catastrophic when you’re gambling at an online casino that never closes and bombards you with notifications.

Constant notifications from sports betting apps can make it difficult to stop engaging, as can social media. If you share a post about a win on Instagram, for example, and your post gets a lot of likes and reposts, that can trigger another dopamine hit — on top of the one you just got from the actual payout, Polley explains. That can motivate you to place another bet.

“Engagement in social media increases risk of addiction to gambling, and those two play off each other and reinforce each other,” she says.

• Being preoccupied with gambling
• Gambling with ever-increasing amounts of money
• Being unable to cut back or stop gambling
• Becoming restless or irritable when attempting to cut back or stop gambling
• Gambling when you feel distressed
• Gambling after losing money
• Lying to people about how much money you’ve spent on gambling
• Jeopardizing your career or relationships in order to continue gambling
• Asking someone to give you money because you spent too much money gambling

Gambling can negatively impact your life even if you don’t have a gambling disorder. Signs your habit may be unhealthy include the following:

1. Missing Bills If you can’t make your credit card payment because you’ve spent too much money gambling — or if you’re gambling in order to make your credit card payment — it’s time to re-evaluate your gambling habits, Polley says.
2. Experiencing Withdrawal Certain activities, such as travel, may limit your access to online sports betting apps. If you get irritable when you can’t use your favorite app, you might be experiencing withdrawal, Polley says.
3. Gambling in Private Gambling in a communal setting — for instance, by sharing your bets with friends and family around the dinner table — may be safer than gambling in isolation, Dr. Fong says. If you find yourself retreating to a private space in order to gamble — such as a public restroom or your bedroom — this may be an early indicator that your habits are becoming problematic.
4. Hiding Money If you are hiding gambling funds from your partner, that could mean that your relationship with gambling has crossed the line from casual pastime to problematic behavior, Polley says.

If you are worried about how much or how often you’re gambling, there are certain steps you can take to try to curb your use, Polley says. Some people benefit from using sports betting apps less often, while others need to stop entirely.

The tips below can help you scale back — or stop — your online gambling practices.

• Set a time limit. Limiting the amount of time you allow yourself to gamble may help, Polley notes. It might be helpful to set a timer on your phone or another device.
• Set a deposit limit. Limiting the amount of money you allow yourself to gamble each day may help, Polley notes. “Having those kinds of rules [can result in] a decrease in use for some people,” she says. Some online sports betting platforms allow you to set deposit limits that restrict how much money you can spend within a given time frame.
• Institute “cool off periods.” Polley recommends taking a mandatory break after a certain number of deposits to slow down. For example, after making five deposits into a gambling account, stay off betting platforms for 24 hours.
• Self-exclude yourself from gambling platforms. Polley suggests voluntarily banning yourself from online casinos for a set period or for life. For example, you can find instructions on how to self-exclude yourself from FanDuel and instructions for self-excluding yourself from DraftKings.
• Ask for help. If you think you have a gambling problem, Fong says it can be helpful to speak to a professional. If you don’t have a therapist, your primary care provider can refer you to one. If you need help immediately, call the National Council on Problem Gambling helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738).

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• Online sports betting platforms have become increasingly popular since their legalization in 2018, but they also pose serious health risks.
• In addition to gambling disorder, online sports betting may increase your risk of depression, anxiety, binge drinking, sleep disorders, and suicide.
• Some people can control their online sports betting by limiting the time and money they spend, but others must quit altogether to avoid financial harm and negative health consequences.