Gambling is easier to access in Ohio than ever. Sports betting, casinos, lottery games, and online wagering can put a bet within reach in seconds. For some people, gambling stays recreational. For others, it begins affecting finances, relationships, work, or mental health.
Better Bet provides virtual gambling addiction treatment to Ohio residents through licensed therapists. Meet with a therapist from your home through secure video, without traveling to a treatment center or waiting for an appointment at a local clinic.
You don’t have to wait for a financial crisis before asking for help. Gambling disorder is treatable, and support can help you regain control before the consequences become more serious.
Crisis Support for Ohio Residents
Gambling-related financial or emotional distress can sometimes become a crisis.
If you or someone else is in immediate danger, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency department. If you’re having suicidal thoughts or thoughts of self-harm, call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
For gambling-specific support in Ohio, call the Ohio Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-589-9966.
The service can connect you with gambling treatment and support resources, and callers can request a transfer to a problem gambling specialist. Live chat is also available through Time Out Ohio’s support page.
You can also text 4HOPE to 741741 for Crisis Text Line support.
Problematic Gambling in Ohio
Ohio’s gambling landscape has changed significantly with the expansion of legal sports betting and the growing availability of gambling through phones and apps.
Calls to Ohio’s problem gambling helpline rose about 55% in 2023, the first year of legal sports betting, from 6,835 calls in 2022 to 10,637.
Young adults are an important population to consider. The 2022 Ohio Gambling Survey found that 24.1% of adults ages 18 to 24 were at risk for or experiencing problem gambling, the highest proportion among the age groups surveyed.
The same survey estimated that 254,729 Ohio adults (2.8%) were problem gamblers, and about 1.8 million (19.8%) fell somewhere on the risk spectrum, from low-risk to problem gambling.
Gambling problems can affect more than finances. The survey linked problem gambling to serious depression, serious stress, alcohol or other substance use, and a family history of gambling problems. Gambling-related distress can also be associated with suicidal thoughts.
That’s why effective treatment looks at co-occurring disorders and what’s happening around the gambling, not only the gambling itself.
The Ohio Casino Control Commission regulates sports gaming, and bettors must be 21 or older and physically located in Ohio. Prevention and treatment fall to the Ohio Department of Behavioral Health, formerly the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS).
It works with the Casino Control Commission, the Ohio Lottery Commission, and the State Racing Commission through Ohio for Responsible Gambling, whose Pause Before You Play campaign shares tips for keeping gambling in check. GamblingHelpOhio.org lists local counseling providers.
The Problem Gambling Network of Ohio (PGNO), the state affiliate of the National Council on Problem Gambling, supports problem gambling awareness, advocacy, and clinician training across Ohio.
It Isn’t Only Sports Betting
Problems can grow in any kind of betting: parlays, offshore online casino sites, slots at a casino, poker, lottery games, even trading that has started to feel like a wager. The game matters less than the pattern, and compulsive gambling can grow out of any of them.
Signs worth taking seriously include:
- Needing bigger or more frequent bets to get the same rush
- Going back the next day to win back what you lost
- Lying to family about where money or time went
- Trying to cut back and not being able to
- Gambling to escape stress or a low mood
One or two of these is enough to take seriously. If you keep returning to gambling despite the consequences, it’s worth talking to a professional.
Gambling Addiction Treatment With Better Bet
Our Ohio-licensed therapists work directly with people dealing with sports betting, online gambling, casino games, poker, lottery gambling, and other forms of problematic gambling.
Treatment starts with a clinical conversation about what is happening and what you want to change. You don’t need a formal diagnosis before reaching out.
The process is straightforward:
- Complete an initial intake. Tell us about your gambling, concerns, and goals.
- Meet with a licensed therapist. Your clinician will assess your gambling behavior, urges, mental health, relationships, and other relevant factors, then build a treatment plan with you.
- Begin virtual treatment. Sessions take place through secure video from a private location.
- Build practical recovery skills. Treatment can address urges, gambling-related thinking, triggers, and barriers that make stopping difficult.
- Develop a long-term plan. Relapse prevention and strategies for maintaining recovery become part of treatment.
Learn more about how Better Bet works.
What Better Bet Treatment Looks Like
Your treatment can focus on the specific patterns keeping gambling going, including triggers, urges, thinking patterns, financial problems, relationship difficulties, and situations where you’re most likely to gamble.
Treatment uses evidence-based approaches including cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), motivational interviewing, and relapse prevention.
Sessions are one-on-one with your therapist over secure video. Most people meet weekly at first, and frequency changes as things stabilize. Along the way, you build a relapse prevention plan and a crisis plan you keep after treatment ends.
Tools That Can Help You to Stop Gambling
Treatment can be supported by practical barriers that make gambling more difficult to access while you work on the underlying behavior.
Time Out Ohio allows people to voluntarily exclude themselves from Ohio casinos, racinos, and sports gaming. Participants can also use the program’s protections against direct gambling marketing.
Gamban blocks gambling websites and apps worldwide. Through Time Out Ohio, eligible Ohio residents can receive a complimentary Gamban subscription for between six months and five years.
GamFin provides specialized financial counseling for people affected by gambling problems. The service is available to Ohio clients at no cost and can help address financial questions and develop practical solutions that support treatment and recovery.
These tools are not substitutes for treatment. They can, however, create useful distance from gambling while you work on the reasons you keep returning to it.
Support for Families and Loved Ones
Loved ones need support, too, and they don’t have to wait until the person gambling is ready for treatment.
Family therapy can help address the damage gambling has caused to communication and trust. Treatment can help family members understand the gambling cycle, recognize enabling patterns, and establish healthier forms of accountability.
Loved ones can also find support groups of their own. Gam-Anon provides peer support for spouses, family members, and friends affected by another person’s gambling, while Gamblers Anonymous offers support for people working on their own gambling recovery.
Not sure how to bring it up? Our guide for loved ones walks through the first conversation, and you’re welcome to reach out to us yourself on their behalf.
Virtual Gambling Treatment Across Ohio
Better Bet works with residents statewide: Cleveland and Akron in the northeast, Toledo in the northwest, Columbus and Dayton in the middle of the state, Cincinnati in the southwest.
We also cover small towns and Appalachian counties where the nearest gambling specialist may be a long drive away.
If you have a private space and a reliable connection, you can start. Video sessions deliver the same core treatment as in-person talk therapy, and many people find it easier to keep showing up when there’s no commute.
That convenience matters when you’re already dealing with work, family responsibilities, financial stress, or the emotional strain that can come with problem gambling.
There’s also a privacy benefit. You don’t have to walk into a gambling treatment clinic or sit in a waiting room where someone you know might recognize you. Virtual treatment lets you begin the process in a setting where you feel comfortable.
Better Bet provides virtual gambling addiction treatment throughout Ohio through licensed therapists who specialize in gambling disorder. Take the first step to recovery today. You are not alone.