NAADGS Study Exposes Stark State Funding Gap: $75 Per Problem Gambler Versus $919 for Substance Use Disorders
NAADGS reports state problem gambling funding hit $188 million in FY2025 ($75 per gambler for 2.5 million people) vs. $44.5 billion for substance abuse ($919 per person for 48.5 million). Funding doubled from FY2021 but $43 million went unspent. Experts warn of a deepening crisis amid expanded betting options.
SCCG Take — Regulators must close the behavioral health funding gap by integrating problem gambling services as gambling markets expand.
New research from the National Association of Administrators for Disordered Gambling Services highlights that state funding for problem gambling services lags far behind spending on substance use disorders. The NAADGS annual study, as reported by Casino.org, shows funding rose from $94 million in FY2021 to $188 million in FY2025. Yet roughly $43 million in designated problem gambling funds went unspent due to procurement delays, contracting timelines, workforce shortages, and program start-up activities.
43 states fund problem gambling programs. Alaska, Alabama, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Texas, Utah, and the District of Columbia do not.
Concentration of Funding in Leading States
A small group of states accounts for a disproportionate share of the total. Massachusetts spends more than three times as much on problem gambling services as any other state. The five highest-funded states represent approximately half of all problem gambling funding nationwide.
The $188 million total equates to $75 per problem gambler across an estimated 2.5 million people with gambling disorders. States spent $44.5 billion on substance use disorders for an estimated 48.5 million people in FY2025, or $919 per person.
Warnings of an Impending Crisis
Derek Longmeier, board president of the National Council on Problem Gambling, said the findings “should alarm anyone who cares about how the United States responds to gambling-related harm.” Longmeier added that problem gambling must be treated as a behavioral health condition deserving the same integrated response built for substance use disorders.
The National Council on Problem Gambling called for gambling harm prevention in public education, inclusion of problem gambling in routine health care screenings, and creation of a credentialed provider network. Some health officials warn the U.S. will soon confront greater harms from expanded betting, including sports betting, iGaming, online sweepstakes casinos, and prediction markets. In May, Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, told a House committee that the gambling crisis is deepening, especially among teenagers. In August, former US Surgeon General Jerome Adams said sports betting is the “new opioid crisis.”
Reporting: Casino.org News
Generated by SCCG’s automated editorial system from published source reporting. SCCG Management holds editorial responsibility.
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