How a Gambling Addiction Drains Your Finances (And How to Fight It)

March Madness is here.

In fact, while we always write this on Friday mornings, by the time this publishes, we'll be fully through the first round of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.

But we can tell you a few things:

• Kyle's Buckeyes were the very first team ushered out of the Field of 64. (As usual, it's up to the women's team to put up some postseason W's).
• High Point delivered an even bigger upset against the Big Ten.
• Georgia lost to a team with a player that goes by, among other nicknames, "Cream Abdul-Jabbar," "Larry Nerd," and "Steph Blurry."

We can also tell you that it's likely Americans will bet more money on this year's tourney than ever before—scratching at the surface of a growing national gambling habit that is increasingly having a profoundly negative impact on people's financial lives.

Today, we're going to talk about the real-world financial consequences of highly accessible sports betting, how to recognize the signs of a habit, and how to fight it off.

Gambling in America: By the Numbers

The headline number for 2026's March Madness: $3.3 billion.

That's the record total of legal wagers the American Gaming Association expects during this year's tournament, which would beat last year's $3.1 billion. That doesn't include the money that millions of workers will pony up to join their office pools, nor does it include any money bet in prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket.

Young and the Invested Tip: Is your budgetary problem discipline, not income? "Reverse budgeting" may help you be a more responsible saver.​

Many money records are reset every year simply because of inflation and/or population growth. Not here. A new high-water mark in legal wagers in 2026's tourney would follow years of legislation changes and a surge of sports betting platforms that have transformed this type of gambling—what once required a trip to Vegas can now be done within seconds on your phone.

Indeed, 22% of Americans have an account with at least one online sportsbook, according to a new poll of U.S. residents released by the Siena College Research Institute (SCRI) and St. Bonaventure University's Jandoli School of Communication.

And that number includes a whopping 48% of men between 18 and 49 years of age.

Simply having an account, or simply having placed a bet, hardly means you have a problem. But plenty of bettors do. Here are a few quick statistics from the third installment of the National Survey on Gambling Attitudes and Gambling Experiences (NGAGE 3.0), conducted by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG).

• 28% of those who gambled on 10+ activities reported problematic behavior.
• 35% of individuals who gambled on 3+ activities weekly or more often met the threshold for concern.
• Online gambling participation rose significantly, from 15% in 2018 to 22% in 2024, and is closely associated with risk.
• Parlay betting nearly doubled, with 30% of sports bettors making parlay wagers in 2024, up from 17% in 2018—raising concerns about loss-chasing behaviors.

And yet, while most people are vaguely aware that gambling can become problematic, Thomas Racca—manager of the personal finance team at Navy Federal Credit Union (NFCU), and our guest for this week—says many people struggle to identify the problem within themselves—and they're often unaware of just how much money they're sinking into the habit.

"Small bets add up fast. Two $50 parlays a week equals $400 a month—nearly $5,000 a year," he says. "But when you actually sit down and put pen to paper, you rarely say 'I know I'm spending $400 a month.' It's usually 'I'm spending what per month?! And then you start to realize how those $50 bets add up."

That same money, he says, could instead be used to build a meaningful emergency fund, pay down high-interest credit-card debt, or contribute to long-term savings or investing.

How Betting Affects Us, And What to Do About It

This week, we discussed gambling's impact on Americans' finances with Racca, who recently recorded an episode about the issue on NFCU's MakingCents podcast. Read on as we dig into the psychology behind gambling, how it can add up on your bottom line, and how to identify when you have a problem, and explain how if you're going through it yourself, you're not alone and there are people who can help.

Gambling Addiction: It's Rarely Sudden, And You Might Not See It on Your Own

Racca says he frequently talks to members who are spending on gambling, and he says they often don't actually see it as the problem it is.

"We had a member come through a few months ago that had thousands of dollars in positive income every month," he says. "They made more than enough to cover their bills, but they were behind on their accounts. We couldn't figure out why. Well, we sat down, and we started going through their transactions. What we saw was deduction after deduction after deduction going into these gambling apps.

"Something that had started out as fun, to engage with friends, had quickly spiraled. It went from the occasional transaction and pivoted to eating into savings and running up a lot of credit."

It's easier to detect, though, if you know some of the signs to look for. Racca provided three signals with different levels of urgency:

1. Losing track: "If you don't know how much you're spending in the moment, I think that's a great canary in the coal mine."
2. Running up credit: "If you are putting it on credit, cash advances, anything to that degree, you've reached red-flag territory."
3. Skipping mandatory expenses: "When you start missing bills, and you're still participating in gambling, that's when the fire alarm should really be going off."

How Gambling Goes From Occasional Fun to Habit

Racca says that like most hobbies, if a person gambles responsibly, it's fine—no different than having the occasional drink or eating fast food.

Young and the Invested Tip: If you do decide to take control of your financial life, don't rely on antiquated money tips like these.​

The problem with gambling is how slippery the slope is.

"In most of these apps, you're entering a space that is trying to engage you," he says. "You're entering a space that's giving you emotions and trying to get your brain to give a hit. In fact, psychologically speaking, it's not even winning that causes the dopamine spike. It's the rush from placing the bet and getting close to winning and thinking you're going to have that victory. That's what you're actually chasing. The winning and the losing is almost inconsequential in the actual addiction part of it.

Racca adds that "'I didn't know it was that bad' is probably the phrase we hear the most," in large part because of the gradual nature of gambling's hold.

"It was a lot of baby steps—a lot of engagement and encouragement within the app. Then you find yourself picking up other bad habits like chasing losses and upping your bets trying to make back money you lost."

One aspect of sports gambling that Racca says to be especially wary of is the parlay—a single wager on several different bets all panning out. For instance, you might bet that Team A will win, Team B will score X amount of points, Teams A and B will combine for less than Y points, and Player C will score Z points.

"On a bet like that, you might wager $100 to win $400, so you're getting a 4x payout," he says. "The odds of hitting that might be sub-10%. But you get entranced. Psychologically, you see the big payout and suddenly know all of these things will happen.

"However, if just one of those 50/50 shots doesn't hit, you lose everything. And gambling apps really target users with these parlay bets."

Gambling's Biggest Target: Young Men

"The biggest demographic for this is young males," Racca says. "We know that's the group that's getting hammered. I see it with 18- to 21-year-olds, especially with everything else that's going on in the world today. The human connection is reduced. Real friendships are reduced."

Racca related the story of how his 16-year-old son and his best friend's 16-year-old son, independently of each other, told them "You know, I watched a video, and I could have told you when this cryptocurrency was going to go up. This guy here beats the averages." His friend pulled up the influencer's income and returns—you can track their trades, they made their information public—and 90% of his money was coming from teaching others to invest.

"He wasn't making money in the market," Racca says. "He made money from teaching. And it's the same with gambling. The folks out there selling gambling are selling you. You're the product."

Kids are generally being exposed at younger and younger ages as major sports networks and even teams flood the experience with gambling ads and even integrate betting into their coverage, Racca says.

"So what do you think that kid is going to end up doing when they become 18?"

Tips for Being More Responsible

We asked Racca if there's anything people can do to make it less likely that the occasional gamble will turn into a more financially debilitating practice.

"No matter what financial topic we discuss, across any of these interviews or podcasts, the one thing that I tell everyone: The first step is knowing your numbers," he says." If you don't know what your income and expenses look like, all other conversations are moot."

From there, Racca says to put your number into your budget. Treat it like other entertainment money—when you go out to a movie or buy a ticket to a concert or sports event, you assume you'll never see that money again.

"That's it. Once that's money's gone, it's gone," he says. "It's no different than your uncle and aunt going to Vegas back in the '70s or '80s with a certain amount of cash on hand, and when the cash was gone, that was it."

Of course, that little casino in your pocket isn't a cash business. You're not taking the concrete action of swiping your ATM card to make a withdrawal—you're mashing buttons, and psychologically, there is a disconnect in that experience. Still, you can limit yourself.

"All apps allow you to enter thresholds; do your best to adhere to those," Racca says. "Set a spending limit at the beginning of the month, then stick to it. Do it through the app, or if your financial institution lets you, do it there."

Young and the Invested Tip: One way to help yourself could be to put your budget in your pocket, too. These are the best budgeting apps we've reviewed.​

His last suggestion is a little less orthodox and might seem a lot more touchy-feely, but it's a great way to handle yet another psychological aspect of fighting addiction—the hiding.

"Talk about your experience with someone else in your life," he says. "And I don't mean that as a confession. I'm just saying that gambling is something that's often done in the dark. Talk to your spouse about it. Talk to your best friend about it. Talk to someone you trust about it who can give you a gut check, especially if it's something you're concerned about. Make sure that it's not the first time someone hears about it when it's gotten way too far to be handled responsibly."

What to Do If You Think You Might Already Have a Gambling Problem

As mentioned above, putting pen to paper can do a lot to really crystalize the issue in your mind.

"When you see it on paper, it's like a flash of the obvious," Racca says. "It's no different than someone racking up credit cards and carrying a balance, then they look at the interest paid at the end of the year and say 'Oh my goodness!'"

From there, you need to step back and make an initial mental commitment to addressing the problem. That the money you're spending on whatever your problem is—gambling in this situation, but you can do this with excessive dining out, exploding shopping spend, etc.—you'll use it to get your financial house in order.

Importantly, Racca says, be gentle with yourself.

"Recognize that it'll take time," he says. "But just like $50 a week, $50 a paycheck spent on a habit can spiral really quickly, it can also add up really quickly as you're saving."

And lastly, don't feel ashamed or embarrassed to seek out help—and certainly don't discount the effect it could have, which is a common feeling among people who have a gambling addiction.

"Treatment skepticism is high among those who need it most," the NCPG says in its NGAGE 3.0 report. "37% of people engaging in risky play believe recovery is unlikely, more than twice the rate of the general gambling population.

Racca recommends calling 1-800-GAMBLER, which offers 24/7 confidential support. There are other resources too, such as Gamblers Anonymous, which provides peer support, and the NCPG's state-by-state directory of local resources. Navy Federal Credit Union also offers tailored financial counseling, not just for gambling, but for many financial issues.

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As always, thank you for reading, and we look forward to talking again next week!

Riley & Kyle

Young and the Invested

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