November is off to a tempestuous start. At press, were at the precipice of a U.S. Presidential election that is taxing the mental and emotional wellness of citizens like no other in recent memory. This is coinciding with (and relating to) two very big developments in the realm of problem gambling. From household to governing body, stakeholders have a lot to discuss as America winds down the final quarter of 2024. Please keep reading.
November 2024 News Regarding Problem Gambling that America Needs to Know About
Legalized Political Betting Piles Onto Election Anxiety
Less than two months ago, Kindbridge reported that a federal judge had struck down a decision by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to prohibit a company from offering betting odds on the U.S. presidential election. At the time, it was assumed that the matter would be tied up in court for weeks or months to come, making it more of a hot topic to be debated closer towards 2028. That has changed, and just in time for markets to cash-in by the time the bell tolls on Tuesday, November 5th. Last week, it was announced that select operators are now permitted to offer actionable odds on who will win between Trump and Harris.
Within days of the release of these odds, problems are rearing their heads. On November 1, NPR reported that the betting market favors Trump by over 30 percentage points. This is contrary to political polls which show that Harris and Trump are statistically tied. This misalignment is raising questions about the accuracy of the market, which leads to a more critical point.
Election betting is already wrought with problems from a public health perspective. For one, it encourages gambling behavior among a population that may not already gamble. Even more concerning, is that it adds a monetary element (beyond taxation and inflation) to an election that may be the most divisive in history. When there is added skin in the game, those on opposing sides may get even more heated. If accuracy of the betting market is called into question, those who wager have yet another reason to question the integrity of election results. We know what can happen when this occurs, especially among an angry gambling population that is known to go into attack-mode when things don’t go their way. Read more on how the legalization of U.S. political election betting adds another mental health concern for vulnerable Americans.
The Lancet Calls for Public Health Response to Gambling
For more than a century, The Lancet has served as a trusted medical journal that publishes scientific research on clinical, public health, and global health. They feature articles, reviews, seminars, health policy, and more with an aim to make science widely available to improve people’s lives. Last week, they published a Public Health Commission on Gambling. In doing so, they let it be known that the time has come for a public health response to gambling in America and around the world:
“Gambling is not a simple leisure activity; it is a health-harming addictive behavior. The harms associated with gambling are wide-ranging, not only affecting an individual’s health and wellbeing, but also their wealth and relationships, affecting families and communities with potential lifelong consequences, and deepening health and societal inequalities. By assessing the barriers to preventing gambling-related health harms, the Commission unveils and deciphers the intersections between the social, commercial, legal, and political determinants of health.” (The Lancet Public Health Commission on Gambling)
The document discusses the known harms of gambling, the likely trajectory if allowed to persist unchecked, and more importantly provides a thoughtful and research-based list of coordinated actions to be taken by federal/state regulators, operators, and other agencies that they deem to be feasible, achievable, and effective in reducing gambling related harms. You can reference the entire report here, and/or check back often as Kindbridge parses through key points of the report to address them in more a digestible (to the public) format as the months progress. Yes, this new public health commission is big, and expected to reignite very serious conversations as America enters 2025 and beyond.
Stay tuned for more as stories develop.
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