Craig Carton’s return to radio includes a cautionary message on sports gambling

March is Problem Gambling Awareness Month and the effort to get the message across comes at a time when people are filling out brackets for March Madness and more states are legalizing sports betting.

Is it all too much? Craig Carton, a hugely successful sports radio host with stints in Philadelphia and New York, has had extensive problems with gambling. He looks at the mainstreaming of sports betting another way.

“The most difficult thing for a compulsive gambler to do is to admit they have a problem,” Carton said. “When it’s viewed as a seedy, back-alley vice that no one wants to admit they partake in, it makes it incredibly hard for an addict or compulsive gambler to come out and ask for help.”

One of the first stops in Carton’s radio career was at Philadelphia’s WIP-AM, where he was nicknamed “The Kid.” A decade later, The Kid became king at WFAN in New York as co-host of the Boomer and Carton morning show. Carton and former NFL quarterback Boomer Esiason talked their way to the top of the radio rankings from 2007 to 2017.

The Kid turned into a convict when he was arrested in 2017 and sentenced to prison at Lewisburg Federal Penitentiary for a ticket reselling scheme, which he used to fund his gambling addiction.

Chief Judge Colleen McMahon told Carton she listened to the show on the way to court.

“I knew you could be fun to listen to. I also knew you could be a jerk,” she said.

Carton served just more than a year of a 42-month sentence and was ordered to pay restitution of $4.8 million to fraud victims.

Carton bet on sports, but it wasn’t his preferred form of gambling. Blackjack was his “bugaboo.”

The convict is now the comeback kid at age 53. Carton returned to WFAN in October 2020 to host the afternoon drive show with Evan Roberts. For Carton, the comeback is all about staying true to another purpose: promise keeper.

About a month after the arrest, Carton checked into a gambling recovery center in Prescott, Ariz.

Some of the dozen other men and women in rehab with Carton at the time shared their stories about the devastation caused by compulsive gambling — lost jobs, bankruptcy, suicidal ideations, divorce.

When it’s viewed as a seedy, back-alley vice that no one wants to admit they partake in, it makes it incredibly hard for an addict or compulsive gambler to come out and ask for help.

They asked him to be the face and voice of gambling addiction since there was not one.

“If I ever got back on the radio or TV I would own it and tell my story and their story and try to humanize the addiction,” Carton said. “It’s what I’ll do for the rest of my life because it’s so important. Gambling has exploded, but we don’t pay attention to the fact that people are going to hurt themselves through gambling.”

Carton was released from prison in late June 2020. HBO released a documentary about Carton that October. It took a deeper look into his childhood, which included sexual abuse. Shortly before his arrest, while riding a ski lift chair, he lifted the bar and considered jumping.

“I went from the depths of hell in a lot of ways,” Carton said.

Sports radio is filled with ads for sports betting. He never reads sports-betting-related ad copy.

But before WFAN made an offer, Carton was close to going to WPEN-FM (97.5).

“I was about 24 hours from going to Philadelphia. There was an offer. I have great respect for Joe Bell [Beasley Philadelphia VP and market manager] and the guys at The Fanatic. Philly was real and I would have been thrilled to come back.”

After early career stops at Buffalo and Cleveland, Carton landed in Philadelphia in 1993.

“I learned how to do radio in Philadelphia,” he said.

It was at WIP where Carton met the late program director Tom Bigby, who gave him a lot of tough love over his four years in town.

“I wouldn’t have gotten to where I am in my career without him,” Carton said. “He taught me the art of radio. In a town like Philadelphia they will call you out for what you are. Philly made me a far better radio host. Without that I wouldn’t have gotten to the heights I ultimately got to.”

FanDuel named Carton its first national responsible gaming ambassador. Why would a recovering compulsive gambler partner with FanDuel?

“Who wants to relive the worst moments of their life over and over again in a public forum?” Carton said. “Every day I talk about gambling, I’m reliving the worst aspects of my life. Most people, they conquer something like that, they want to put it in the rear view. For anyone who thinks I’m doing it for the money, it ain’t that much money.”

In a town like Philadelphia they will call you out for what you are. Philly made me a far better radio host.

Carton hosts a podcast, Hello, My Name is Craig, with guests who discuss gambling addiction and ways to move forward.

“It’s not easy to talk about and relive, but you can see he is driven to help others from going down that path,” said Josh Ercole, executive director of the Council on Compulsive Gambling.

If Carton’s show was in the ratings toilet when he was arrested, he would not have gotten offers from The Fanatic and WFAN.

He has fun on the air, and it isn’t just sports talk or constant complaining about the state of the teams.

“Craig is both knowledgeable and entertaining,” said Marc Rayfield, former SVP of CBS Radio in New York and Philadelphia. “He doesn’t take himself too seriously and what he often discusses on air is far from predictable. He is a reminder that radio is still fun and relevant.”

In the winter radio ratings, Carton and Roberts earned a 6.1 share, taking the lead over ESPN Radio’s The Michael Kay Show.

“I am in a really good place,” Carton said. “I don’t apologize to anyone for getting a second opportunity. But I do make a promise that I am going to use this second opportunity to do good. I am going to be the face and voice of responsible gambling because it needs somebody.”

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, call 1-800-Gambler.