The growth of online betting and mobile apps makes gambling noticeably more accessible and more addictive, especially for young people. Studies link problem gambling to addiction, deteriorating health, and increased suicide risk. Against this backdrop, experts are increasingly discussing the need to change regulation and strengthen prevention at the public health level.
Why the issue is back on the agenda
One of the world’s leading medical journals, The Lancet, launched a commission on gambling harms several years ago, calling the problem urgent, underestimated, insufficiently studied, and worsening from a public health perspective. In this framing, one can hear a challenge to the usual risk hierarchy, where alcohol, tobacco, and drugs have long been surrounded by research and restrictions, while gambling long remained on the periphery of attention.
The paradox is compounded by the fact that scientists’ alarm is sounding against the backdrop of expanding supply. In many jurisdictions, the market is being legalized in a simplified way, rules are being relaxed, and access to bets is becoming part of the everyday digital environment, with lower barriers than land-based casinos.
Money and the industry’s reach
Market estimates show a scale that is hard to see as a niche form of entertainment. The global gambling industry, by market calculations, exceeds $700 billion a year, turning into a flow of money, attention, and advertising comparable to major sectors of the economy.
Participation in developed countries is also high. Surveys in Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom show that roughly 45% to 60% of the population take part in gambling, with lotteries, sports betting, and casino formats counted under the broad umbrella. In the United States, commercial gaming delivered record revenue of about $72 billion last year, and in terms of spending this is compared to total spending on attending sporting events, going to the movies, and live music.
A smartphone as a casino in your pocket
The classic model, where gambling was tied to a place, is giving way to platform logic. Mobile apps gain access to behavioral and interest data, and then turn it into personalized offers, where sports, favorite teams, and behavioral habits become raw material for retention.
App audits describe a set of typical mechanics that increase the frequency of bets and reduce friction between impulse and transaction:
- streamlined sign-up and weak age verification
- prominent promises of free bets and bonuses
- instant prompts to place the next bet immediately after the previous one ends
- push notifications and personalized reminders
- gamification elements, where bets are packaged as a game with levels and rewards
In this architecture, not only accessibility matters, but also the rhythm of stimuli. The more often a person receives triggers and the simpler the action, the higher the likelihood of problem behavior, especially among groups with mental health vulnerabilities.
This is especially vividly demonstrated by the example of most projects in recent years—from crash games to live dealer products. They are built so that a round lasts no more than a minute. In crash games, its maximum duration is 10 seconds. But even live roulette, the record-holder for duration among new projects, does not give the player pauses. Data on the https://xxxtremeroulette.com/, dedicated to the online casino with live roulette XXXtreme Roulette, reveal details about the timing. On average, a round lasts from 30 seconds to a minute, which fits the concept of a short dopamine loop. The brain becomes accustomed to constant stimulation, which significantly accelerates the formation of addiction.
Young people and the state’s interests
Young adults become the main audience of the new market due to constant availability and dense advertising in broadcasts and highlight clips. An additional impulse is provided by campaigns where athletes serve as brand ambassadors, and bets are presented as an extension of supporting a team. In some U.S. states, the share of online betting among people aged 18 to 24 is estimated to be higher than one in three, which noticeably sets this age group apart.
The regulatory landscape is complicated by conflicts of interest. In many countries, gambling is not only permitted and licensed, but also partly operated by the state through lotteries or other operators that generate revenue for the budget. Supporters of this model point to taxes and receipts, while researchers emphasize the difficulty of an honest balance, since the calculation must include medical, social, and economic costs that often remain outside financial reporting.
Islam as a lens and the debate about prevention
In the religious tradition of Islam, gambling is understood as a practice where harm outweighs benefit, and this thesis is often compared with modern data on addiction and social damage. The Quran says
“They ask you about wine and games of chance. Say, in both there is great sin and also some benefits for people, but their sin is greater than their benefit.”
Another quote links gambling with the destruction of social ties and distraction from what is important
“O you who have believed! wine and games of chance and idols and divining arrows are an abomination of Satan’s handiwork. So avoid each of them, that you may succeed. Satan only desires to sow between you enmity and hatred through wine and games of chance and to keep you from the remembrance of Allah and from prayer.”
Theological commentaries interpret the prohibition as protection of society, including through the idea of a zero-sum game, where one person’s winnings mean the losses of many, unlike the exchange of goods and services, where both sides gain value.
At the policy level, researchers are increasingly arguing with the rhetoric of responsible gambling, considering it insufficient when the digital environment itself is designed for retention. The measures under discussion are usually attributed to public health and to platform design:
- restrictions on advertising and sports sponsorship
- stronger age verification and identity checks
- a ban or strict limits on free bets and aggressive push notifications
- interface rules that reduce the speed and frequency of betting
- restrictions on personalized targeting based on data
- harm monitoring and operator reporting, development of self-exclusion and warnings
The digital betting market is increasingly described not as neutral entertainment but as a health risk factor, especially in youth groups. The discussion brings fiscal interests, technology-driven retention practices, and a growing medical evidence base into conflict, expanding the conversation from individual responsibility to the structure of the environment.