Counselors in Austintown say conversations about problem gambling tend to rise with football season, as sports-betting advertising becomes especially prominent during games and wagers can be placed from a phone within seconds.
The roughly one-in-five figure cited locally refers to risk across gambling, rather than a measure of sports-betting addiction alone. Ohio’s 2022 statewide survey estimated that 1.8 million adults, or 19.8% of the adult population, fell into low-risk, moderate-risk or problem-gambling categories. About 255,000 adults, or 2.8%, were classified as problem gamblers.
The state survey was conducted before legal sports betting began in Ohio in January 2023. The Ohio Department of Behavioral Health has since said that nearly 20% of adults are at some risk of gambling problems, while identifying people aged 18 to 24 as the highest-risk age group in the 2022 data, at 24.1%.
Stephanie Gollner, a therapist and co-owner of C&G Counseling, said more people seek help when football returns. Kristina Lattime, a counselor trainee at the Cole Center, said the legalization of sports betting made it available to a wider range of people, and that betting activity can vary with the sports calendar.
Lattime said escalating bets, persistent distress and major financial losses can signal a gambling problem. She also cautioned that betting apps are built to generate revenue and that a wager is never certain. Gollner advised people to bet only money they can afford to lose and to set a monthly entertainment budget.
The state survey found that family history of gambling problems, alcohol or drug use, gambling while intoxicated, serious depression and serious stress were associated with problem gambling. In fiscal 2023, Ohio’s Problem Gambling Helpline received 9,448 calls, a 66% increase from the prior fiscal year; 67,713 people were screened for gambling disorder and 1,139 received treatment.
Treatment is available through Meridian HealthCare’s problem-gambling programme, which offers assessment, individual, group and family counselling, financial planning and relapse prevention. The provider defines problem gambling as continuing to gamble despite harm to family, work or personal relationships. State agencies and the Ohio Lottery provide funding for Meridian patients who cannot afford treatment.
Ohio’s Gambling Telehealth Network also offers no-cost statewide counselling and therapy for residents affected by gambling-related harm who lack qualified local providers or face barriers to care. In fiscal 2025, the network served 55 clients through 610 individual counselling sessions.
People seeking help can contact Ohio’s Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-589-9966. The National Problem Gambling Helpline can be called or texted at 1-800-MY-RESET, and Gam-Anon is available at 844-475-4213.
