Who protects problem gamblers? Not the states cashing in on sports betting.

Terry Thompson’s spiral into gambling addiction offers a window into the human destruction Pennsylvania lawmakers unleashed when they legalized online betting.

Before sports gambling was legal, the Montgomery County resident placed occasional bets through bookies. But in 2020, shortly after Harrisburg legalized sports betting, Thompson created an account with FanDuel Sportsbook to bet on the Eagles.

He began placing numerous microbets through FanDuel and DraftKings, the two main gambling apps, and soon became addicted. Within five years he wagered more than $22 million between the two companies and lost more than $1.8 million.

To feed his gambling addiction, Thompson sold his company and took out additional mortgages on his home. He hit rock bottom in February, gambling away his last dollar and planning to take his own life, according to a lawsuit filed in Common Pleas Court of Philadelphia against FanDuel and DraftKings and detailed by Inquirer investigative reporter David Gambacorta.

Thompson’s story lines up with many others who get hooked on gambling. But it included a new wrinkle that adds to the insidious way gambling companies entice people to keep betting.

In November 2024, Thompson received a personalized video message from Philadelphia Phillies superstar Bryce Harper.

In the video, Harper references Thompson by name, mentions his young son and thanks him for his support. Harper adds that he was reaching out on behalf of the VIP manager at FanDuel who wanted to make sure Thompson had an “extra special Thanksgiving.”

A few days after Gambacorta’s story was published, Harper issued a statement claiming he was not aware of FanDuel’s involvement even though he mentions the company’s VIP manager by name.

Harper said he joined the messaging site Cameo to engage with fans by providing paid video messages. Indeed, there is no evidence Harper was paid by FanDuel or aware of Thompson’s addiction.

Strategic ignorance aside, it seems pathetic for a star athlete paid roughly $25 million a year to work a side hustle shilling videos to strangers. Talk about not elite.

Clearly, everyone is finding a way to make money off gamblers, including state lawmakers, sports leagues, gambling apps, and former and current players.

It’s all about the fans, right?

More disturbing is how the apps entice gamblers.

In Thompson’s case, FanDuel rewarded him with perks, including champagne, hotel stays and Super Bowl tickets. His VIP manager texted him about the Eagles as well as personal exchanges about family and travel plans.

FanDuel said its VIP managers do not work on commission. The company has a number of systems in place to help gamblers bet responsibly, including a dashboard so customers can track spending, real-time check-ins if players deviate from usual habits, and devices that let gamblers set limits on losses or time spent on the app as well as cooldown periods or formal self-exclusions.

That’s well and good, but gamblers find workarounds and the VIP perks sure seemed designed to keep high rollers gambling. Expecting gamblers in the throes of addiction to police themselves is not a serious solution.

Expecting gamblers in the throes of addiction to police themselves is not a serious solution.

One recovering gambling addict not involved in this case told me how FanDuel and Draft Kings would send him numerous incentives a day to keep betting.

Indeed, the gambling business model depends on a small percentage of gamblers making frequent bets. One study found 5% of sports gamblers generate 86% of the industry’s revenue.

The ease of online gambling has turned everyone’s mobile phone into a casino. Nearly 40% of men and 20% of women gamble online daily, according to the American Psychiatric Association.

Online betting has enabled companies to attract younger gamblers. Two-thirds of 18- to 22-year-old men surveyed by the N.C.A.A. had bet on sports. Many teens and adolescent children have become hooked on gambling, including some as young as 11.

In a statement, FanDuel said it “is committed to fostering a culture of responsible gaming and protecting our customers” and that “employees are trained to recognize and flag signs of problem gambling.”

Thompson’s experience, as alleged in his lawsuit, indicates otherwise.

“There are millions of Terry Thompsons out there,” Harry Levant, a former Philadelphia attorney who is now the director of gambling policy for Public Health Advocacy Institute, told me.

Levant, an addiction recovery coach, said he gets frequent calls from spouses, parents and children seeking help for loved ones addicted to gambling. He said he has clients who gamble in the shower or before they get out of bed in the morning.

Levant said the surge in online sports gambling has been fueled by a partnership between professional sports leagues and sports betting companies that provide a nonstop stream of in-game betting opportunities on everything from the next pitch to the next home run.

Microbets — such as betting on the outcome of the next pitch or play — and same-game parlays — where gamblers make a single bet that requires multiple events to happen — keep bettors engaged throughout a game. When the game is over there is always another game somewhere in the country or across the world.

Levant said microbetting is designed to be addictive. “We are dealing with a fundamentally different form of gambling,” he told me. “It’s machine vs. humans and no way can humans keep pace.”

Levant has called on Congress to pass the Safe Bet Act, which would require operators to conduct “affordability checks” on customers before accepting wagers; prohibit microbetting and the use of AI to track individual gambling habits and offer individualized promotions; and prohibit sports books from marketing during live sporting events.

Even for us non-bettors, prohibiting sports gambling ads — the same way tobacco ads are not allowed — would be a welcome relief. The incessant ads from casinos, sports books as well as the in-game promotions are beyond annoying.

The problem is the sports leagues, the TV networks, and the gambling companies are essentially in business together. The state lawmakers who are sworn to protect the public enjoy campaign donations from the gambling lobby and the hefty taxes for state coffers.

The sports leagues, the TV networks, and gambling companies are essentially in business together.

But it is up to the 39 states and Washington, D.C. that have legalized sports betting to implement real safeguards to protect citizens from a system designed to keep people gambling. The states ignore the reality that all of their betting-related tax revenue comes from the pockets of gamblers.

Last year, Americans bet more than $166 billion on sports — and billions more at casinos and state lotteries. Before the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way in 2018 for states to legalize sports betting, sports betting amounted to $4.9 billion.

Now, up to 30% of Pennsylvania adults engaged in some form of online gambling in the past year, researchers at Penn State University found.

The Philadelphia-area market leads the country in online gambling. The rapid growth has resulted in a doubling of calls to a problem gambling hotline.

Anthropologist Natasha Schull wrote a book years ago that explained how slot machines were designed to addict gamblers. The industry jargon was to get gamblers to “play to extinction.”

Now, online gambling saves a trip to the casino, but the endgame remains the same.