Problem gambling rises in Pennsylvania
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The number of Pennsylvanians seeking help for gambling problems has increased significantly over the last year, according to new data from the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board.
Why it matters: The state's gambling addiction hotline saw record-high calls last year, and problem gambling is continuing to increase as online betting, skill games and sports betting proliferate.
By the numbers: There were 9,677 Pennsylvanians added to the state's self-exclusion list in this fiscal year, from July 2025 to June 2026.
- The self-ban program has a total of about 30,000 people enrolled currently.
- It allows a person to request to be excluded from legalized gaming activities within a casino and offsite venues, online, or in fantasy contests, and enrollees are banned from collecting any winnings, recovering any losses or accepting complimentary gifts, according to the gaming control board.
Zoom in: New enrollees on the self-exclusion list are up 18% compared to the previous fiscal year.
Flashback: In the decade before online gambling was legal and implemented in 2020, Pennsylvania's self-exclusion list typically added 900-1,600 people per year, according to data compiled by Public Source.
Stunning stat: Revenue from sports betting increased 616% between 2019 and 2025. Pennsylvania's first full year of legalized sports betting was 2019.
- Online gaming revenues have increased 390% since 2020, the state's first full year of online gaming.
State of play: State Sen. Wayne Fontana (D-Brookline) has introduced a bill to increase fines for companies that advertise to anyone on the state's gambling self-exclusion list.
- Fontana told Axios in May that the state Legislature needs to catch up to the rising problems associated with gambling addiction.
What's next: The control board has proposed regulations like installing new limits on how casinos are allowed to advertise, but experts like Carnegie Mellon sports gambling professor Linda Moya don't believe it will be enough to address the issue
- "It's like we are treating the issue just by individuals, instead of a societal issue. It's like putting a tiny Band-Aid on a large cut," she said at a panel discussion in Pittsburgh in May.