In the March 6 editorial “Don’t let sports gambling run the table,” The Post quite rightly wrote that the “practices [of the sports gambling industry] cry out for greater scrutiny at the national level.” Unfortunately, Washington rarely acts in a timely fashion to mitigate public health harms, a shortcoming most recently illustrated by the failure to curb the sale of flavored tobacco.
States have taken the lead on menthol cigarette bans and must do the same with respect to sports betting. A 2023 report by the New Jersey attorney general found that about 28 percent of high-risk problem gamblers reported suicidal ideation, 20 percent said they had attempted suicide, and 26 percent reported engaging in non-suicidal self-injury. That group includes 19 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds.
If states nevertheless continue to legalize sports betting, then they should also restrict participation to players 21 and older, impose strict advertising regulations and require granular all-player data collection to track and address the life-or-death risks resulting from sports betting and other forms of gambling.
Mark S. Sternman, Somerville, Mass.
