The honeymoon might be over.

A new Harvard study is raising alarms about sports betting, and the numbers aren't great for the industry. According to a Pew Research Center poll cited in the research, 43% of U.S. adults now say that legal sports betting is "a bad thing for society." That's up from 34% in 2022.

Nearly half the country thinks we made a mistake.

The Quick Hit

• The stat: 43% of Americans say legal sports betting is bad for society
• The trend: Up from 34% in 2022
• The concern: Gambling addiction growing as a public health issue
• The quote: "You've got your casino in your pocket 24-7"

What Harvard Is Saying

Harvard experts are warning that gambling addiction is becoming a genuine public health concern. Counselors report growing numbers of patients with gambling problems, and a JAMA Internal Medicine study found that internet searches for gambling addiction help have risen 23% nationally since the Supreme Court overturned the federal ban in 2018.

Harvard Kennedy School professor Malcolm Sparrow put it bluntly: "You've got your casino in your pocket 24-7."

Spencer Andrews, a student fellow at Harvard's Petrie-Flom Center, explained the smartphone problem: "Having it on your phone with push notifications and constant advertisements is able to kind of hijack your brain in a really fascinating way."

That's not degen talk. That's academic talk for "this stuff is designed to be addictive."

The Economic Angle

It's not just about individual harm. Harvard researchers are seeing warning signs for broader economic consequences.

Professor Sparrow: "When new forms of gambling appear, the rate of savings go down, then you see the rate of credit card defaults going up. And you see the rate of mortgage defaults going up. So these are long-term financial and societal costs with broad implications."

We haven't seen those macro effects hit yet in a major way. But if gambling continues to expand and problem gambling rates keep rising, the economic fallout could extend far beyond individual bettors.

The Scale Problem

Here's the thing: most degenerates probably aren't problem gamblers. We bet for entertainment. We manage bankrolls. We know the house wins in the long run.

But Harvard's research suggests the harm extends further than anyone expected. Their estimate: up to 50% of gamblers suffer "some degree of harm and regret" — a much broader definition than clinical addiction, but still concerning.

The gambling tax changes that hit January 1 made things worse for recreational gamblers by capping loss deductions at 90%. The industry's record hold rates in 2025 extracted more money than ever from bettors.

Add declining public opinion to the mix, and you've got a recipe for regulatory backlash.

The Industry Response

The sports betting industry points to responsible gambling tools — deposit limits, self-exclusion lists, reality checks — as evidence they're taking the problem seriously.

But Debi LaPlante, director of the Division on Addiction at Cambridge Health Alliance and Harvard Medical School associate professor, noted that many healthcare providers don't have the knowledge or tools to address gambling problems. The infrastructure for dealing with addiction hasn't kept pace with the expansion of gambling.

What This Means

When 43% of the public thinks your industry is bad for society, regulatory pressure follows. We're already seeing it:

• New York lawmakers proposing live betting bans
• States considering advertising restrictions
• Tax increases on sportsbook revenue
• Push notifications and deposit limits under scrutiny

The industry has always known that public perception matters. They just assumed winning would take care of itself. Legal betting means no more offshore books, tax revenue for states, consumer protections for bettors.

But if people associate sports betting with addiction, family destruction, and economic harm, those arguments matter less.

The Bottom Line

Harvard researchers are sounding alarms about gambling addiction, and nearly half of Americans now think legal sports betting is bad for society.

This doesn't mean betting should be illegal again. Prohibition didn't work, and offshore books are worse for everyone.

But the industry needs to reckon with the fact that public opinion is shifting against them. The ads, the push notifications, the frictionless deposits — all of it designed to maximize engagement — is exactly what critics point to when they call sports betting harmful.

We're degenerates. We love the action. But even we can see when the vibes are turning.

Something's got to give.