KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) – Health providers across the Kansas City metro have worked to expand resources to combat gambling addiction as the FIFA World Cup approaches. More than a month has passed since sports gambling went online in Missouri. Mental health professionals say the timing makes expanded services crucial.
“It doesn’t discriminate. It’ll impact anyone,” said Casey Spartz, vice president of behavioral health services at the Heartland Center for Behavioral Change in Kansas City, Missouri.
The 2025 Kansas Gambling Survey found people at risk for problem gambling jumped to 20 percent (fivefold increase) since 2017. Spartz said 1-2 percent of the population will fall into the classification of having a gambling use disorder.
Counseling service providers across the Kansas City metro, including Missouri and Kansas, are trying to increase their capacity for sports gambling addiction services.
“We want to have fun. We want to be successful in those things, but then it can become problematic,” said Chris Woodward, substance abuse services director at Health Partnership Clinic in Olathe.
Health Partnership Clinic in Olathe now includes a gambling dependency program. Woodward said the state helped train him at no cost.
“I think it’s really good for people to be around others and to see what works in them and that it can work for me,” Woodward said.
Spartz works with a Missouri work group to assess sports gambling addiction resource needs across the state. He said the state has been responsive to identifying the need.
As the World Cup heads to Kansas City, addiction counselors are preparing for increased exposure to sports gambling. FIFA announced a partnership with the sports betting industry to allow gambling operators to live-stream games. Spartz said increased access to gambling carries consequences.
“This is something that can effectively ruin someone’s life in that capacity,” Spartz said.
Spartz said conversations with experts and state leaders are going well, and they expect to have more specific plans for service expansion by July.
“It matters because it can be anyone’s brother, family member, father, daughter,” Spartz said. “This work matters because we can help those families.”
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