iStockphoto / fotoguy22
Sports betting in Florida exploded on the scene in 2023 after a protracted battle over the legality which saw it legalized, repealed, and legalized again. These days Florida sports betting is commonplace with the state’s only legal sportsbook having naming rights to the stadium where the Hurricanes and Dolphins play, and there are constant commercials running for DFS and other sports betting operators during national sports broadcasts.
Predictably, this unfettered access to sports betting in Florida has led to a significant rise in calls to the state’s problem gambling hotline.
Is Legalized Sports Betting Causing A Problem Gambling Spike In Florida?
The Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling (FCCG) operates the 888-ADMIT-IT helpline which fields calls from problem gamblers seeking help. Underlying reasons for the calls vary, as does the type of gambling the callers engage in.
Prior to legalization, online sports betting accounted for 56% of calls but just 242 total calls in the year 2023. After legalization, online sports betting accounted for 70% and 650 calls in 2024. In 2025 that number grew even further. Interestingly, the number of calls related to online casino gambling fell from 40% to 29% between 2023 and 2024.
That number jumped to an ominous 666 calls in 2025 for online sports betting and fantasy sports betting, 289 for online casino gambling, marking a 138% increase in problem gamblers citing “online gambling” as their reason for calling.
Not great!
The report provided demographic information on who is calling the problem gambler hotline and the leading demographics are: White/Caucasian (49%), Male (97%), and 30 years old or younger (62%).
Just 5% of callers were 50 years old or older. And the fact that females accounted for just 3% of callers is wild.
Of those who called 2% reported losing $200,000 or more, 1% reported losing between $100,000- $149,999, 2% reported losing between $75,000- $99,999, 4% reported losing between $50,000- $74,999, 7% reported losing between $35,000- $49,999, 4% reported losing between $25,000- $34,999, 9% reported losing between $15,000- $24,999, 4% reported losing between $10,001 – $14,999, and 35% reported losing between $1 to $10,000. The rest (33%) reported no losses and one would assume they were calling and seeking advice on behalf of someone else.
Ultimately, the total number of callers reporting problem gambling is small in comparison to the total population of Floridian engaging in sports betting. But one has to wonder what % of bettors should be calling that aren’t.
The full report can be seen here on the GamblingHelp.org website.