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America’s next great addiction crisis

by John Mac Ghlionn, opinion contributor - 10/24/26 1:00 PM ET

by John Mac Ghlionn, opinion contributor - 10/24/26 1:00 PM ET

FILE – FanDuel, DraftKings and other online gambling apps are displayed on a phone in San Francisco, Sept. 26, 2022. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

America has a gambling problem, and it’s becoming harder to see. For decades, addiction was associated with the obvious vices: drugs, alcohol and, to a lesser extent, the desperate soul sitting at a casino table.

Today, gambling can happen anywhere, at any hour, with nothing more than a phone and a bank account. You can gamble throughout an entire football game without ever leaving the sofa. And you can lose thousands of dollars without a friend or family member even knowing.

That makes gambling addiction particularly dangerous. The addict doesn’t have to look like an addict. He can be sober and successful.…