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State survey shows higher gambling prevalence and rising risk markers; committee urged to boost prevention and treatment funding
Summary
A new statewide gambling survey showed increases in self-reported gambling, higher proportions of respondents in moderate and high problem-gambling risk categories since 2017, and a strong association between high-risk gambling and substance use and suicidal behavior.
A statewide survey presented to the committee found substantial increases in reported gambling behavior and a rise in the share of respondents categorized at moderate and high risk for problem gambling compared with the last survey in 2017.
Survey overview: Dr. Farzana Sultana and Lisa Chaney of the Greenbush LTI research team told legislators that the April–May 2025 online survey of 1,645 Kansas adults was weighted to state demographics and included new questions about sports betting. The margin of error for the full sample was +/- 2.4 percentage points.
Key prevalence and risk findings: The survey team said 34% of respondents reported gambling for money or value in the last 30 days in 2025 compared with 19% in 2017. Using a nine-question screening measure consistent with prior state surveys, researchers classified respondents into low, moderate and high problem-gambling risk categories. In 2017 roughly 84% were classified low risk; in 2025 that share fell to about 59%. The moderate-risk group rose to about 21% (from roughly 12% in 2017) and the high-risk group rose to about 20% (from 4% in 2017).
Comorbidity and harms: The presenters said respondents in the high-risk group were substantially more likely to report substance use and mental-health harms than low-risk respondents — for example, high-risk respondents were roughly four times as likely to report depression and five times as likely to report suicidal thoughts. Over half of high-risk respondents reported that gambling had produced health, relationship and financial problems.
Sports betting and attitudes: The survey added sports-wagering questions for 2025. The team reported that more than half the sample regularly follow live sporting events, but only a smaller share (about 37%) reported placing sports bets — most bettors reported episodic use (less than monthly or once/twice a month). Among respondents who held online sportsbook accounts, most were male and a majority knew someone who had a problem with online sports betting.
Policy implications: Greenbush researchers recommended boosting prevention messaging; better regulating advertising and promotions; improving public awareness of no-cost treatment; cross-program screening and early intervention; and ongoing monitoring, particularly at regional levels. Legislators asked KDADS and other agencies to follow up on whether existing funds targeted to problem gambling are being used effectively and whether additional resources may be needed.
What legislators heard next: Committee members pressed for more granular data on losses by category (lottery vs. sports wagering vs. iGaming), and asked KDADS how grants and treatment providers are using the problem-gambling allocation the statute requires.
