Gambling prevention advocates are asking for iincreased screening for addiction during March Madness.
It's Gambling Awareness Month, and executive director for the Minnesota Alliance on Problem Gambling, Susan Sheridan Tucker, says that March Madness can create a high stakes environment for gamblers.
She's advocating for the public to recognize betting, especially via new apps accessible to teens, that can become a serious mental health addiction.
"This is highly risky activity, and frankly, there's not enough education provided to middle school or high schoolers," says Tucker. "So we're introducing them to a whole new form of gambling without them really understanding the risks."
She says the organization's 24/7 helpline and free treatment programs are available to help those impacted by gambling.
As of early 2026, sports betting is legal and active in 40 states plus Washington D.C., with 32 of those states offering statewide mobile betting. But the concerns continue even in a state like Minnesota where the state's pending sports betting bill remains a key legislative issue, and it is still technically illegal.
The NCAA Tournament is a notoriously busy time for sports betting, with game-after-game the first couple of weekends of the tourney making it a sports gambling extravaganza. It's also one of the busiest weeks of the year in America's gambling hotspot, Las Vegas.
Tucker says it's a time she says can be catastrophic for gambling addicts.
"People can get themselves into very deep financial crises," she says. "We can offer a debt management plan or to work with them so that if they've gone completely off the rails financially, that we can start to get them back."
She says the alliance is working to manage a reported 2,700% surge in gambling that has popped up over just the last year.
