Shining the Light on Women and Problem Gambling for Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month—and it’s also Problem Gambling Awareness Month. That powerful overlap gives us an important opportunity to examine a story that has too often gone untold: the rising and unique impact of gambling disorder on women.

When most people picture a problem gambler, they picture a man. That outdated image has real consequences. Women who struggle with gambling disorder are frequently overlooked, underserved, and underrepresented in research, recovery spaces, and public awareness efforts—leaving thousands without the help they need and deserve. This Women’s History Month, the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling (FCCG) is using the light of Problem Gambling Awareness Month (PGAM) to make one thing clear: women’s gambling stories belong at the center of this conversation. [1]

Women are Gambling More Than Ever

The landscape of gambling in America has shifted dramatically with the rise of online platforms and legal sports betting, and women are a growing part of that shift. According to the American Gaming Association, 26% of sports bettors are now women—and the share of women wagering on sports increased by 51% from 2023 to 2024 alone. Research from St. Bonaventure University found that 20% of women aged 18–49 now have an online account with a sports betting service. [2][3]

Yet even as the numbers rise, women’s experiences with problem gambling remain poorly understood. Most publicly available information still centers on women as partners of male problem gamblers, not as individuals experiencing gambling disorder themselves. That silence has a cost.

While online sports bettors contacting the 888-ADMIT-IT HelpLine remain predominantly male, a recent FCCG HelpLine report reveals this pattern has shown a modest but notable shift following the legalization of sports betting in Florida. During the 2023 calendar year, prior to legalization, female sports bettors accounted for just 1% of HelpLine contacts (2 of 242). In the 2024 calendar year, following legalization, the proportion of female sports bettors increased to 3% (18 of 645), and rose further to 4% in 2025 (24 of 655).

While males continue to represent the vast majority of sports betting-related help seekers, the number of female sports bettors seeking help increased more than tenfold from the pre-legalization period to the most recent post-legalization year. This emerging shift suggests a gradual broadening of the population impacted by sports betting and will be important to monitor over time.

How Women’s Experiences with Gambling Differ

While men are statistically more likely to develop gambling addiction overall, the way women experience it is meaningfully different—and in some ways, more immediately dangerous. Men tend to be drawn to skill-based, competitive gambling such as sports betting and card games, typically motivated by excitement, competition, and the desire to win.

Women, by contrast, are more likely to engage in chance-based gambling—slots, online bingo, lottery—and are far more likely to gamble as a means of emotional escape: a way of coping with depression, anxiety, loneliness, trauma, domestic abuse, or the relentless pressures of caregiving. As Christina Cook, founder of the peer-led recovery community The Broke Girl Society, puts it: “The majority of women gamble for escapism. They’re escaping societal pressures, they’re escaping job pressures, they’re escaping a relationship. Domestic violence, financial abuse … single motherhood.” [1]

The Hidden Addiction Hides Even Deeper for Women

Problem gambling is already known as “the hidden addiction” because it leaves no visible physical symptoms. For women, it runs even deeper. Women tend to prefer private forms of gambling—apps, online platforms, mobile slots—meaning that even the people closest to them may not notice that a problem has developed. Research indicates that women are less likely to seek help than men, driven by stigma, shame, fear of judgment, and a cultural expectation that they project emotional stability. [4]

The consequences of going undetected and untreated can be severe. Problem gambling is associated with financial ruin, damaged relationships, legal problems, and career loss —but perhaps most urgently, it carries the highest suicide rate of any addiction. Research published in 2026 in the journal Drug and Alcohol Dependence found that women with gambling disorder actually present a higher risk of gambling-related suicidal ideation than men. Yet women remain dramatically underrepresented in treatment settings—a gap that demands urgent action. [5]

Barriers That Stand Between Women and Help

Women who do recognize they have a problem face additional obstacles when seeking help. Traditional recovery spaces—including Gamblers Anonymous—have historically been male-dominated environments, which can be alienating or even re-traumatizing for women who have experienced abuse or assault. Research confirms that women who come forward to ask for help encounter twice the number of emotional, psychological, and social barriers compared to men. Internal barriers—denial, fear, shame, and ambivalence—routinely delay women from seeking help until they reach a crisis point. [6]

Reducing that distance between a woman in crisis and the help she deserves requires awareness, de-stigmatization, and access to resources designed with her in mind. That is precisely what PGAM is built to do.

Shine the Light: Help Is Here for Every Floridian

This March, the FCCG is calling on all Floridians to raise awareness, stand together, and remove the stigma that prevents women—and everyone—from reaching out. As the only organization in the Sunshine State with over three decades of experience addressing problem gambling, the FCCG’s 888-ADMIT-IT HelpLine delivers 24/7, confidential, and multilingual support tailored to each caller’s unique circumstances. FCCG HelpLine Specialists are trained to provide resources catered to the individual’s specific situation—including trauma-informed referrals, peer support through the Peer Connect Program, the Online Program for Problem Gamblers (OPPG), financial and legal resources, self-help literature specific to women, and referrals to certified treatment providers.

The results speak for themselves: 93% of help seekers reported reduced gambling after reaching out. Recovery is possible. Every woman deserves to see her story reflected in the path toward healing.

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This Women’s History Month, don’t let stigma write the ending. Explore FCCG’s PGAM resources, free educational tools, and information about how to become a PGAM partner at the FCCG’s PGAM Microsite.

If you or someone you care about is worried about gambling, call the 24/7, Confidential, and Multilingual 888-ADMIT-IT HelpLine today. Help and hope are here.

References:

[1] Honey, Minda. “What Happens When Women Take the Bet?” Harper’s Bazaar, 15 Jan. 2026, www.harpersbazaar.com/culture/features/a69988971/rise-of-gambling-addiction-women/.

[2] Maseli, K. “Betting on Women: The Future of Gambling Is Changing.” Learning Cycle Collective: Global Voices on DEI, 20 Mar. 2025, blog-en.learningcycle.co/2025/03/20/betting-on-women-the-future-of-gambling-is-changing/.

[3] “St. Bonaventure/Siena Research Survey Reveals Almost 1 in 5 Americans Have an Online Sports Betting Account.” St. Bonaventure University, 5 Feb. 2024, www.sbu.edu/news/news-items/2024/02/05/st.-bonaventure-siena-research-survey-reveals-almost-1-in-5-americans-have-an-online-sports-betting-account.

[4] Kaufman, Anna, et al. “Barriers to Treatment for Female Problem Gamblers: A UK Perspective.” Journal of Gambling Studies, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 22 Dec. 2016, pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5579153/.

[5] Marionneau, Virve, et al. “Gender-specific risk factors for gambling-related suicidal ideation: Evidence from a help-seeking population” ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS A International Journal, ScienceDirect, 13 Jan. 2026, sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306460326000237.

[6] Bulcke, Gina Marie. “Identifying Barriers to Treatment among Women Gamblers.” University of Pittsburgh, 13 Dec. 2007, d-scholarship.pitt.edu/concern/etds/81ea875f-2bd6-4068-9b3a-339c0c025bb5.