US gambling addiction is 'out of control' as betting markets boom, policy expert warns

Gambling addiction is spiraling "out of control" in the US, a leading campaigner for stricter guardrails has warned, as experts from around the world are set to gather in Boston to push for more regulation of the industry.

The rapid expansion of online gambling, prediction markets and sports betting platforms, "demands a public health response", according to Harry Levant, director of gambling policy at the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), urging policymakers to intervene.

"You regulate the distribution, the speed, the type, the access to the product, because the product is what's dangerous," he said, calling for gambling to be treated like alcohol or tobacco. "The problem is the product, not the people," said Levant. "We have a crisis here."

The warning comes as experts from around the world are set to gather in Boston today to push for more regulation of the industry. The conference has been organized by PHAI, a US-based non-profit led by Richard Daynard, who led litigation against big tobacco in the 1980s.