Side Effects Include...

Evidence is mounting that certain prescription drugs can have a positive and negative impact on a user's gambling behaviors.

Jan 04, 2024

NEWS: There is growing evidence that two drugs can change gambling behaviors—one for the better and one for the worse.
NEWS: Legalization increases problem gambling helpline calls, but what happens after the initial surge?
NEWS: Maine looks at online casino gambling in an eventful public hearing.
AROUND the WATERCOOLER: More thoughts on sports betting from the man on the street.
STRAY THOUGHTS: The so-called experts.

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Chasing Rabbits: Drugs and Gambling Behavior

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small

Because of its weight loss benefits, Ozempic and other semaglutide drugs, have been thrust into the spotlight. Besides weight loss, another curious side effect of Ozempic is its ability to curb addiction.

Per a recent New York Post article, “a growing number of anecdotal reports and medical studies indicate that semaglutide… can curb addictive cravings and behaviors in users who were most likely to have been taking the pricey and trendy drugs for an entirely different reason.”

Basically, in addition to curbing food cravings, the drug also appears to be curbing cravings for everything from alcohol and tobacco to nail biting and gambling.

This is all anecdotal, but the leading theory is the drug is reducing the amount of dopamine released. Per the NY Post:

“Studies have found that in animals and people, semaglutide can diminish the release of dopamine in the brain when a person eats something deliciously sweet, or drinks a perfectly mixed, frosty margarita.”

There is also the possibility that it’s a knock-on effect from weight loss. That improved health is diminishing the desire to drink, smoke, gamble, and so on.

On the flip side, the UK’s Department of Health and Social Care is reminding people that drugs to treat schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have the opposite effect.

Per a column in Casino Beats, “Aripiprazole, a drug which can lead patients to develop compulsive behaviors such as problem gambling.” Aripiprazole is better known as Abilify and Aristada.

The number of instances is small but not insignificant. “DHSC has received 69 reports of gambling disorders related to Aripiprazole in the last 14 years, with 32 reports in 2023 alone,” Casino Beats reports.

Still, for those it impacts, the harm level is considerable. In a March 2023 article in The Guardian, Lee Jordan recounted his experience while on the drug and gambling:

“While he had gambled small amounts of money for fun in the past, his casual habit quickly started to take over his life.
“I was spending a huge amount of money because it was a release. But the devastating effects were humungous – I nearly lost my relationship, I lost family, friends, it just destroyed my life really,” he said, adding that he had lost £10,000 to gambling companies and been unable to recoup the money.
“Jordan came off aripiprazole in 2022 and within weeks, he felt empowered to stop gambling. “When I came off the medication it was a struggle for a little bit, because it was ingrained in my brain those endorphins for the wins.”

Unlike semaglutides, research exists that links aripiprazole to gambling disorders.

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Can We Get a Follow Up on Those Numbers?

There is one article we can count on whenever a state launches sports betting, and that article is an increase in calls to problem gambling helplines.

The latest example is Kentucky, which, per local reporting, is seeing a “three-fold increase” in calls since it launched its mobile sports betting apps in late September.

Kentucky is far from the only state to see this type of increase, and the article pretty much writes itself:

There are several reasons for this:

With legalization, more people are aware these resources exist (they are mandatory on ads and websites).
People are mistakenly calling these numbers for technical help with their sports betting accounts - depositing, geolocation, etc.
With increased access, there is an actual increase in problem gambling following legalization.

But what do the numbers look like several months later? As Jamie Salsburg recently pointed out on X, they quickly come back down to earth.

“Given the massive promotion of the helpline, neither the initial spike (when advertising is at peak spend) nor the current trend of 10-20% over average call volume comes as much of a surprise,” Salsburg tweeted (you really should read his entire tweet for full context).

Maine Lawmakers Propose Full-Scale Online Gambling

Maine’s successful launch of mobile sports betting has added fuel to a push to legalize online casino gambling in the state.

The legislature held what turned out to be an eventful public hearing on LD 1777 (carried over from 2023), as a bomb threat brought an early end to the proceedings.

The bill sponsored by Rep. Laura Supica has widespread support on the Democrat side of the aisle, including from the House and Senate leadership.

The bill would expand on the state’s online sports betting model by allowing federally recognized tribes to partner with online gambling platform providers to offer:

“a game of skill or chance offered through the Internet in which an individual wagers money or something of monetary value for the opportunity to win money or something of monetary value.”

One of the major impediments will be pushback from the state’s two commercial casinos, who, under Supica’s proposal, would be left out, with the state’s tribes controlling the online gambling licenses.

In written testimony, Maine Gambling Control Board Chairman Steven J. Silver said:

“It is my personal belief that adult Mainers should be free to enjoy legal, regulated gaming in all its forms. But I also believe that any qualified operator should have the ability to obtain an iGaming license including the Wabanaki Nations. Cutting out Oxford and Hollywood Casinos entirely from offering iGaming is ill-advised in my opinion.”

Another concern is the newness of online sports betting, which will likely cause some to question the rush into online casino gambling, ‘Let’s see how sports betting does first’ has been a common refrain in similar scenarios.

Needless to say, the 2024 online casino landscape is rapidly changing. Here is my updated candidate list (remember, there are no great candidates in 2024).

Around the Watercooler

Social media conversations, rumors, and gossip.

Earlier this week, I posted a tweet from a real estate guy about gambling that went semi-viral. Either the algorithm is catching on to what grabs my attention, or non-gamblers talking about gambling is becoming more common on X because here is another.

These are all from the same X thread, a quote retweet of a NY Post article about gambling addiction in young men following the legalization of sports betting.

The comments (which are actually turned on for the article) are also worth a quick read-through.

Stray Thoughts

The older I get, the more I come to realize that many people we classify as experts or great thinkers are simply silver-tongued. They’re articulate and persuasive. They’re practiced public speakers who are good at reading a room, telling a joke, and holding you in suspense.

This isn’t to say they are charlatans or don’t know what they’re talking about. Still, it would be wise to set their reputation aside and consider what they’re saying rather than how well they are saying it.

A well-formed, articulately delivered opinion sounds a heck of a lot better than someone working through their thoughts in real-time while stumbling over a lot of “ummms.” But it doesn’t make the former truer than the latter.

As I opined in one of the first Straight to the Point newsletters back in August:

“… for every legitimate expert I’ve run into, I’ve met five people who are somehow experts in everything. And by experts in everything, I mean people who know a little about a lot of things but speak with a certainty that doesn’t line up with their actual knowledge. Remember that when you see someone confidently wading into every social media debate, big and small. Or when someone is ranting about a problem you didn’t know existed that they happen to be selling a solution for.”