Addiction specialist stressing caution as sports betting gains popularity in North Carolina

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — Legal sports betting is booming in North Carolina.

Sports betting became legal in North Carolina on March 11th, 2024.

Since then, residents have placed more than $6.6 billion in bets, and nearly $6 billion has been paid out in winnings.

From that, the state has brought in over $130 million in revenue.

Alongside the surge in gambling, experts are seeing troubling signs.

Rahkee Patel, regional adult services clinical director at Coastal Horizons, said the number of people showing signs of gambling addiction is growing.

“We’re noticing is about 2 percent of adults who are coming in for their assessments are endorsing at least one criteria for problem gambling,” Patel said.

Dr. Timothy Fong is a professor of psychiatry at UCLA and co-founder of the university’s Gambling Studies Program.

He said addiction isn’t just about the number of bets placed or money spent; it’s about the impact.

“Do you continue to gamble despite harmful consequences to your life? Harmful consequences over financial, social, physical, emotional, spiritual, you name it,” Fong said. “So I’ve had clients who’ve gambled just a few times a year and yet they developed tremendous harm from those few times. I’ve had other clients who gamble every single day, and it’s part of their daily routine.”

Currently, Coastal Horizons does not have a dedicated program for problem gambling, but Patel said they are working with the state to change that.

“To be able to develop some sort of programming specific to individuals who are coming in with a problem gambling disorder, and working on potentially group therapy, individual therapy, peer support services as well. Really creating an integrated team approach for these individuals who are seeking services specific to problem gambling.”

Patel said she hopes such a program will be in place by the end of this year.