Albany — Sports fans wager more money on Super Bowl Sunday than any other day of the year, and with that, some are sounding the alarm of how much money is lost…statistics show that $2 billion has been lost in the last year in the State of New York.

That money lost by betters is a 20 percent increase since last year. The majority of those losing bets are 18 to 35 year old men. This increase has been triggered by the legalization of mobile sports betting in New York in 2022. Advocates say disclaimers on advertisement for gambling aren’t doing enough, and that counter advertising is needed.

Jim Maney, Executive Director of the New York Council on Problem Gambling, says New York State’s Gambling Commission has done a great job of raising awareness for problem gambling, but more needs to be done on the federal level.

“What’s different about gambling [compared to other addictions] is that there is no federal oversight of gambling,” Maney says. “There’s federal oversight of alcohol, substance abuse, everything right? But there’s not gambling, and that’s one of the areas that we lack in so henceforth, there’s no funding that comes down to States…of anything.”

Albany Democratic Congressman Paul Tonko has spearheaded legislation to addressing gambling, but it’s been slow to move forward.

“We’re working really hard at it,” he says. “Because I think it’s a public health crisis that will only grow, and we’ve reached out to a lot of groups to have them, you know, get their input, and we’re seriously going to build sponsorship and file our bill in this session.”