Families and experts who treat addiction stress caution when it comes to betting on sports

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- While excitement builds over the launch of legal sports betting in North Carolina, addiction specialists are stressing a word of caution.

Data from Yale Medicine shows millions of Americans are prone to problem gambling, which can drain finances and have severe impacts on mental health.

Cliff Zinner of Raleigh knows it feels like to have your world flipped upside down by addiction. Cliff's son, Joshua, was seriously addicted to sports gambling, leading to a rehab stint about two years ago. Cliff says Joshua had a generally addictive personality, which led to troubles with alcohol and drugs, too. Joshua died after taking cocaine laced with fentanyl one year ago yesterday.

"It may not have the telltale signs of alcohol or drug addiction, so no, I didn't know about his addiction to gambling, which is one of the scary things," Cliff said.

Cliff said gambling addiction resources were hard to find for Joshua, who ended up going to rehab in Arizona. He said it was somewhat surprising when their family discovered that sports gambling was his true addiction.

"He had an addictive personality, and gambling was his outlet, and that didn't make it any less scary," Cliff said.

With legal sports wagering now a reality in North Carolina, experts are concerned about the potential impacts. Art and Christina Klose have helped people battling gambling addiction for more than a decade, and now run the Coastal Therapy Center.

"People that might not have even thought about it before. But now that it's legal, it might be something new, a new way to receive money, to win money, to have money for their families," Christina said.

It's a slope that addiction experts believe could be even more slippery given the increased ease of access to mobile sportsbooks and new promotional offers.

"There is a lot of concern there that you know, people are just kind of being drawn into it without full knowledge of kind of what they're getting themselves into," Art said.

Data from Yale underscores some of the risks associated with problem gambling. An estimated one-percent of American adults battle gambling addiction, while between 2 and 7 percent of kids develop gambling disorders. Sports gambling in particular leads to higher rates of addiction in men and college students.

Cliff's message: it's not worth it.

"It's dangerous, just realize it. I know kids think they'll live forever and they're indestructible, but it's dangerous just like any other addiction," he said. "It can suck you in and it can be scary, you can get carried away, and a little more, a little more."

The mobile sportsbooks that launched Monday have gambling resources built into their apps. The National Problem Gambling Helpline is also available 24/7 at 1-800-Gambler.