Therapists and advocates in Texas have warned that gambling addiction is increasing, as prediction markets and sports betting apps spread through the state and Texas currently provides no state funding for gambling addiction treatment.
The warning was reported as part of a Dallas Morning News investigation published by NBC DFW on October 7.
Prediction markets, which let users bet on political, economic and sports events, have increased rapidly in Texas. Clinicians say the products have the same risk patterns as traditional gambling as demand for therapy is rising with families absorbing the fallout.
The Cost to Families
Jessica Steinman, an Austin woman, described a three-year relationship with a gambling addict she met in Los Angeles in June 2011, shortly after she moved to the city.
She passed him her phone number at the restaurant where he worked as a host and the relationship moved quickly. He moved in, and Steinman covered the rent, his daughter’s preschool, vacations, dinners and other expenses.
He spent his own money, entire paychecks, on sports betting and at the local casino. After three years of trying to fix him, she put an end to the relationship. He had borrowed roughly $85,000 from her, she said, money that he never paid back.
Stories like hers are what therapists say they are seeing more often, as betting becomes constant and accessible from any phone.
Why Phone Betting Raises the Stakes
Unlike a trip to a casino, betting apps and prediction markets live on the phone people carry everywhere. That constant access shortens the distance between impulse and bet, makes the habit easy to hide from family, and lets losses accumulate quickly and quietly.
Prediction markets also tend to frame betting as forecasting or investing rather than gambling. It can delay the moment a person recognizes the pattern as a problem and by the time someone looks for help, money and relationships are often already damaged.
This is exactly the point at which Texas residents discover the state offers no publicly funded treatment path.
Understanding Gambling Addiction
Gambling addiction, known as gambling disorder, is a behavioral addiction. It develops when betting continues despite serious harm to finances, relationships and daily life. Common signs of addiction to watch for include:
- Betting more money or more often than intended
- Chasing losses with bigger bets
- Lying to family or employers about gambling
- Borrowing money or running up debt to keep betting
- Feeling restless or irritable when trying to cut back
Unlike substance addictions, gambling addiction leaves no physical trace, which means family members often discover the problem only after major financial damage, as in Steinman’s case.
Where Texans Can Find Help
Texas does not currently fund gambling addiction treatment through the state so Texans seeking help rely on private therapists, addiction treatment centers in Texas and free mutual-support groups.
That gap matters, because early counseling is less costly than the financial damage of an unmanaged gambling addiction.
The issue is moving toward the legislature as well. Texas lawmakers have set an agenda for the coming months that includes studying gambling laws, according to related NBC 5 coverage, with committees preparing to hit the ground running in January. Advocates argue that treatment services must increase with the sports betting legalized.
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