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MPR News with Angela Davis
Angela Davis and Maja Beckstrom

Sports betting is growing, along with problem gambling

Sports Betting
FanDuel, DraftKings and other online gambling apps are displayed on a phone.
Jeff Chiu

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March Madness kicked off Sunday with the selection of college basketball teams that are playing in the 2025 NCAA tournament.

In addition to watching the games over the next few weeks, millions of Americans will be betting on them.

Since the U.S. Supreme Court legalized sports betting in 2018, nearly 40 states have legalized some form of sports wagering. It’s not legal in Minnesota, but many people in the state still stake money on office pools, in online fantasy sports, driving to a border state to place a legal bet or by placing illegal bets with off-shore sportsbooks.  

MPR News host Angela Davis talks about the growing culture of sports betting and the rise of gambling distraction and addiction, especially among young men.   

Guests:

  • Jason Kido Lopez is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He studies and writes about sports entertainment and sports betting and is the author of “Redefining Sports Media.”  

  • Lisa Vig-Johnson is a gambling addiction counselor in Fargo, North Dakota. She is the gambling disorders clinical lead for the state of North Dakota’s Department of Health and Human Services and provides services for Minnesota residents through Soul Solutions Recovery Center in Moorhead, Minn.  

If you think you or someone you know has a gambling problem, you can find help through the Minnesota Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-333-4673 (HOPE) or by texting HOPE to 53342. You can find tips for talking about problem gambling, a survey to screen for online gambling and free subscriptions to apps like GamBan that block gambling sites at The Minnesota Alliance on Problem Gambling.


Subscribe to the MPR News with Angela Davis podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Spotify or RSS.   

 Use the audio player above to listen to the full conversation.