Super Bowl Sunday is clearly a national holiday. The whole country comes to a stop for the purpose of watching the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles battle for the Vince Lombardi Trophy and NFL superiority at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans.

More than the two teams, the Super Bowl represents the biggest betting day of the year. As legalized gambling has swept the nation, nearly everyone you know has some kind of betting interest in the game, and $1.4 billion is expected to be wagered on Super Bowl 59.

Whether fans are betting against the point spread, over/under, making wagers on player props, making live bets as the game progresses , betting how long the national anthem will take or buying squares that pay off at the end of each quarter, they have a financial interest in the game.

The United States has become a nation of gamblers, and when gambling volume increases, problem gambling grows as well. A majority of individuals can handle sports betting without getting addicted. But a significant portion of the population won’t be able to gamble without causing major financial problems and other issues for themselves and their families.

Addictive gambling is growing across the United States. The legalization of sports gambling in 39 states has led to gambling promotion and advertisements that catch the eye of the media-consuming public. A generation ago, those inclined to bet on sports did not have legal access to quench their desire unless they were in Las Vegas.

There were plenty of sports bettors, but they were doing it through neighborhood bookies or other non-legal means.

Dr. Kyle Faust is a clinical psychologist and director of the Digital Addiction and Gambling Treatment Program for Teens and Young Adults at Massachusetts General Hospital. He explained how the promotion of gambling through the media has laid the foundation for compulsive gambling.

“Sports betting has also become more normalized than ever before and has become marketed online, including advertisements featuring professional athletes and influencers,” Faust said. “Naturally, gambling will lead to gambling disorder for a certain percentage of players, and a larger number of gamblers means that more individuals will develop gambling disorder, especially if sports gambling is more readily available at players fingertips than ever before.”

Live betting leads to more losing options

In addition to making traditional bets against the point spread, over/under or the money line, the growth of “live” betting as a specific game progresses has given sports fans another opportunity to wager. The odds on any football, basketball, baseball or hockey game changes as points, runs or goals are scored. These changing odds appeal to sports fans, who think they know what will happen next.

For example, the Chicago White Sox set a modern-day Major League Baseball record for losses last season. They finished with a 41-121 record that was worse than the infamous 1962 Mets. The White Sox often had leads in many of those losses. Live bettors found several opportunities to bet against the South Siders and profit.

However, live betting presents another opportunity for players to lose their money and cause multiple problems, according to Faust.

“There are a vast number of sporting events occurring live at any given moment, leading a gambler to constantly have games to bet on,” Faust explained. “Some gamblers even bet on numerous live games simultaneously, which can increase their frequency of gambling and increase the amount of money they can lose. Another similar danger is that live sports betting gives a gambler constant opportunities to place bets and receive wins. Not only can this keep gamblers constantly glued to screens to watch live games, but it also increases both the speed and frequency of gambling, which can lead to riskier gambling behaviors in the long run.”

Society is more accepting of gambling, in general, and sports gambling, in particular, than ever before. Sports gamblers often use the term “degen” – short for degenerate – to describe their betting patterns. They wear that label with pride. Prior to the legalization of sports gambling, a gambling degenerate was not socially acceptable and often shunned by non-gamblers.

“As sports betting becomes more socially acceptable, it leads to more problem gambling symptoms,” Faust said. “The term “degen” is usually referring to particularly reckless gamblers who lack knowledge about the large bets they frequently place. It’s quite harmful to encourage gamblers to gamble in such a manner.”