Listen as senior producer Zach Dyer reports on the public health concerns over online sports betting and a fund in Missouri that might help with addiction treatment and prevention.
The parking lot at the Super One Stop in Granite City, Illinois, is full. The convenience store just across the Mississippi River from Missouri sells liquor, cigarettes, and some groceries. But not all the cars belong to customers. It鈥檚 a Sunday morning in the middle of football season, and the people sitting in their vehicles are mostly looking down at their smartphones.
Nick Krumwiede is sure the people parked around him are betting on the day鈥檚 NFL games. That鈥檚 why he鈥檚 there. Krumwiede drove 15 minutes across the state line from his home in St. Louis to place three bets, including one on his beloved Chicago Bears.
Krumwiede could have driven to a casino in East St. Louis, Illinois, to bet on the games in person. But with apps like DraftKings and FanDuel on his smartphone, he doesn鈥檛 need to make the trip. He can place his bets in this parking lot.
鈥淭his is Sunday football, everybody,鈥 Krumwiede said. 鈥淚 guarantee you that鈥檚 what they鈥檙e doing.鈥
鈥淵ou see them all sitting in there staring at their phones?鈥 he said.
Public health experts say smartphone-based betting makes it easier for people to get into deep gambling trouble fast. But it takes effort to drive to a parking lot across state lines to bet on an NFL game. Soon, Missouri gamblers will be able to place those bets from their couches. Voters approved sports betting in Missouri in a November ballot initiative, and the state could start issuing sports betting licenses as soon as this summer.

The ballot measure requires the state to dedicate at least $5 million a year from its sports betting tax revenue to combat compulsive gambling. Supporters of the measure said that increase in resources could help the state address harms associated with gambling addiction. In other states, the introduction of online sports betting has been linked to increased calls to hotlines for problem gambling.
Estimates of the state鈥檚 revenue from sports betting range from $12.8 million to $20.5 million, according to a for a previous bill to legalize sports betting.
Carolyn Hawley is at Virginia Commonwealth University who researches problem-gambling addiction, treatment, and harm reduction. She has tracked Virginia鈥檚 experience since sports betting started there four years ago.
鈥溾奧e don’t even have to leave our homes anymore,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e now have them on our smartphones. We can do it anytime, anyplace.鈥
In Virginia, some primary care providers have started asking their patients about their gambling habits, Hawley said. Doctors have shared reports of stress-related ailments, she said, especially in young men who had been betting on sports.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e coming in with . They鈥檙e coming in with . They鈥檙e coming in with ,鈥 she said.
Sports bettors tend to be younger and male. In a of registered voters, Fairleigh Dickinson University found that a quarter of men under 30 bet on sports online. Problem gamblers make up 10% of that group, compared with 3% of the overall U.S. population.
After the legalization of sports betting in Virginia, Hawley observed a spike in calls to her state鈥檚 gambling helpline: 1,000% more from 2019 to 2023.
Hawley, who is also the president of the Virginia Council on Problem Gambling, said 200% more people were looking for resources to quit gambling.鈥娾奜ther states have seen similar trends.
Dozens of states have legalized sports betting after a Supreme Court decision cleared the way in 2018, including every state that borders Missouri save one, Oklahoma.
Supporters who pushed for sports betting in Missouri say people already cross into other states to gamble. They argue that Missouri has missed out on valuable tax dollars that could, in part, help fund gambling treatment and prevention efforts in the state.
鈥淭he beautiful thing about being the 39th state to do something is you are able to take a look at what has worked and what hasn’t worked in other states,鈥 said Jack Cardetti, spokesperson for , a group made up of Missouri and sports betting companies that supported the ballot initiative. 鈥娾淚f we鈥檙e going to have an expansion of gaming here in the state of Missouri,鈥 he said, 鈥渨e also need to expand the resources.鈥
Missouri spent just $100,000 on problem gambling in 2023 and zero dollars the year before that. The state is still developing a plan to spend the money earmarked from the ballot initiative.
In Illinois at the Super One Stop, store owner Himang Patel said he doesn鈥檛 mind sports bettors using his parking lot to gamble on their phones. Some people sit up to an hour, and Patel said that can be an opportunity to sell a pack of cigarettes or bag of chips. He guessed that the extra foot traffic will die off when sports betting becomes legal in Missouri.
Krumwiede said he鈥檚 looking forward to not having to make the drive across the state line, but he鈥檚 also mindful that easier access could come with risks. He knows gambling can be addictive.
鈥淪ometimes I have bad days where I go out and put out a hundred bucks and I lose almost all of it,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 kind of like a sinking feeling. You don鈥檛 talk about it.鈥
Krumwiede tries to set rules for himself so he doesn鈥檛 lose too much money at any one time.
He said he is looking forward to not having to make the drive to Illinois after sports betting starts in Missouri. But he鈥檚 worried, too. He said there were periods in the past when he lost too much money.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a little scary, but I鈥檓 just going to have to make new rules,鈥 Krumwiede said.
He has a few more months to figure it out.