Gambling Disorder Diagnoses Up 61% in States With Legalized Sports Betting

DraftKings Chief Executive Jason Robins said every parent should talk to their children about gambling addiction. He made the remarks in an interview with CNBC's Contessa Brewer, noting he has already had those conversations with his own kids.

Robins argued that children need to understand the risks even if their families are not in the industry. "Every parent, even if you don't have a business or don't live in a world where the kids grow up around it, I think it's something every parent should have conversations with their kids about," he said. He explained that he told his children how the company works when they were young. He added that they will have to wait until age 21 to participate.

His children have absorbed industry terms like point spreads and money lines. Robins said they often ask which side he is backing on a given day so they know who to root for. He described his approach as maintaining a transparent relationship where children feel comfortable asking questions about gambling, similar to how they might ask about a parent's wine consumption.

The comments align with a recent analysis of health records. The study found that gambling disorder diagnoses increased by roughly 61% among residents of states with legalized sports betting. In states without legalization, cases dropped by about 30% between 2018 and 2026. Men aged 18 to 29 had the highest rates of the disorder.

Researchers noted that increased awareness, expanded screening, and better medical coding could partly explain these trends. The National Council on Problem Gambling reports that 8% of American adults, or nearly 20 million people, reported experiencing at least one indicator of problematic gambling behavior many times in the past year.

Robins said DraftKings offers Responsible Gaming tools, including account limits and self-exclusion features. The company also blocks some accounts based on observed behavior. He stated that self-exclusion can be more effective when states share exclusion lists among regulated operators.

The Responsible Online Gaming Association is working on a nationwide self-exclusion list. Robins said privacy laws and regulation complicate the effort, but the group is making progress. He said he would not object to a requirement that customers set gambling limits. He compared limit-setting to wearing a seat belt and said it allows customers to define their own comfort levels.