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Every month in 2025, more than 31,000 people called, texted, or chatted with the National Problem Gambling Helpline.
The National Council on Problem Gambling released its 2025 helpline annual report last week. The overall takeaway: People reaching out for help are younger, more racially diverse, and more likely to be gambling on their phones than at a slot machine.
The profile of problem gambling is evolving alongside legal gambling expansion in the US. At the same time, responsible gambling resources aren’t matching the needs of gamblers or the speed of options entering the space.
Who’s calling the helpline?
Nearly half of all helpline contacts last year (49.5%) were 18 to 34. That continued a multi-year trend of the average age of callers skewing younger. It also aligns with the key demographic app-based sports betting operators and online casinos aggressively market to.
The racial makeup of problem gamblers is shifting, too. The percentage of contacts identifying as white has declined steadily since 2023, while contacts identifying as multiracial have grown significantly.
The NCPG says gambling harm is reaching a broader cross-section of Americans than ever before.
Online gambling problems rise dramatically
Online and app-based gambling now accounts for 31% of reported gambling types among helpline contacts, up from 23% just one year prior. Over that same period, calls involving traditional slot machines or electronic gaming dropped from 36% to 31%.
What does this mean? Digital gambling has essentially pulled even with the casino floor as a potential problem gambling risk.
Problems concerning sports betting and online card games are trending up as well. None of this is shocking given where the legal market has moved. But seeing it show up in helpline data amplifies the concern.
The NCPG noted these shifts reflect real changes in “how gambling is marketed, accessed, and experienced in daily life.”
‘A deeply human crisis’
In general, people don’t call the helpline after a rough session or two. They call when they’ve hit a wall.
In 2025, more than 73% of contacts cited financial problems as a reason for reaching out. That’s up from 66% the year before. Mental health concerns (32%) and relationship problems (22%) round out the top three motivators.
These issues don’t necessarily exist in isolation. They can compound into a stew of issues that drives someone to contact the helpline.
Men still make up the majority of contacts at 70%. Nearly 1% of contacts identified as transgender or non-binary. About 4% were spouses or family members reaching out on behalf of a loved one, a reminder that damage from problem gambling can also affect people close to the gambler.
The NCPG describes it as “a deeply human crisis – one that affects wallets, minds, and families all at once.” The 7-point year-over-year increase in financial stress concerns the agency. Whether it reflects easier access to credit through gambling apps, the cumulative pressure of a maturing legal market, or something else entirely, it’s a signal operators and regulators shouldn’t ignore.
Even the “How” is changing. The helpline itself is evolving with the market. Chat and text contacts continue to grow as more people reach out through digital channels. That tracks with a generation that no longer defaults to phone calls, and it has real implications for how support infrastructure gets built and funded.
Keeping pace
The NCPG’s closing note in the report is pointed: Problem gambling support needs to be “as accessible, immediate, and diverse as the gambling options themselves.”
Right now, gambling options are expanding faster than the responsible gambling resources available to people suffering from problem gambling.
That’s what 31,000 contacts a month looks like in practice.
The National Problem Gambling Helpline is available 24/7. Call or text 1-800-MY-RESET, or chat at 1800myreset.org. The services are always free and confidential.
