You don't have to be an enthusiastic sports fan or a fanatic bettor to understand that sports wagering is flourishing.

Super Bowl LIX, or "Super Bowl 59" for those people who don't speak Latin, is anticipated to shatter the previous record for money bet on a single live sporting occasion in the United States: last year's Super Bowl. The video game drove $1.3 billion in U.S.-based betting alone, as 68 million Americans took a gamble on the Taylor Swift-ified spectacle that ended in success for Chiefs Kingdom. This year's tilt - a rematch of the 2023 Super Bowl between Kansas City and the Philadelphia Eagles - is forecasted to draw more than $1.5 billion in legal wagers across the country.

If you or someone you appreciate is participating in bothersome gambling, you can get help by calling the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-GAMBLER, or visiting problemgamblingcoalitioncolorado.org (for resources in Colorado) or gamblersanonymous.org (for assistance throughout the U.S. and globally).

The proliferation and popularity of mobile sports betting applications (apps) has fueled a sports-betting rise. Apps have actually created tremendously higher access to sports wagering for everyone from casual wagerers to compulsive bettors, who can put bets anywhere, anytime, with simply a click on their mobile devices.

Upping the ante is the smooth combination of mobile wagering with major sports leagues and media coverage, which bombards audiences with updates on ever-shifting chances and motivation to "participate the action," blurring the line between the video game and video gaming.

Healthy Gambling Guidelines

- Set limits and stick to them.

- Never bet more than you can pay for to lose.

- Don't chase your losses.

- Seek aid if you require it. 1-800-GAMBLER

At the same time, mobile sports wagering menus - the types of wagers available to bettors - have broadened considerably. Traditional sports bets (placed before the start of a video game, and normally tied to the outcome of the event) are served up together with "live wagering" (likewise understood as "in-game" or "in-play" wagering), in which chances and wagering alternatives unfold throughout live-game play, and "microbetting," a more granular, instant-gratification form of gambling that focuses on specific occasions or moments in a video game, like the outcome of the next play, point or belongings.

This trifecta of increased gain access to, relentless chances to chase one's losses (or earnings) and pervasive marketing have drawn millions of Americans to online sports betting, increasing the odds that more people will develop unhealthy relationships with betting.

With so much on the line, we turned to Emily Hemendinger, MPH, LCSW, an assistant teacher in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, who concentrates on dealing with patients with obsessive-compulsive qualities and has a background in treating dependencies. In the following Q&A, Hemendinger provides insight into the root triggers and indications of problem gambling (also referred to as compulsive betting or betting dependency), and how to help yourself or someone who is having a hard time with a gaming disorder.