By the end of the 2023 NCAA tournament, an estimated one in four Americans will have wagered $15.5 billion in bets on the various games, according to the American Gaming Association. Last year, Matt Cappelen 바카라 게임 웹사이트� a 34-year-old firefighter from Elk Grove Village, Illinois 바카라 게임 웹사이트� would have been in the middle of the action. For this year바카라 게임 웹사이트�s dance, though, he바카라 게임 웹사이트�ll be sitting on the sidelines of the betting game.바카라 게임 웹사이트�I바카라 게임 웹사이트�ve always been a die-hard sports fan,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Cappelen said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�Pretty much anything that involves a winner and a loser, I loved.바카라 게임 웹사이트�Since legal online sports betting was first made available in Illinois in 2020, the fun of sports had only gotten that much bigger for Cappelen.바카라 게임 웹사이트�I was able to combine making money, or so I thought, and sports,바카라 게임 웹사이트� he said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�What better way to do that than with gambling?바카라 게임 웹사이트�But in the three years since, Cappelen built up $83,000 in gambling debts on sites like Bovada and FanDuel. Up to 90% of that, he says, was done on credit cards.바카라 게임 웹사이트�You feel like you바카라 게임 웹사이트�re playing with fake money or play money. Monopoly money,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Cappelen said.Each month, he used gambling winnings to make the next minimum payment on his credit cards, never worrying about how he would repay the debt.바카라 게임 웹사이트�I legitimately thought that I was going to start to get on a hot streak and win it all back.바카라 게임 웹사이트�That hot streak never came, though, and the credit card debt piled up. Finally, after a crushing late-night loss on a particularly big bet, Matt confessed it all to his wife. He knew he needed help, and has since joined Gamblers Anonymous and registered for a debt recovery program. But because online sports betting has become so accessible, many more may walk the same road.Fewer regulations, more risks?Since the 2018 overturn of the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act , which lifted a 26-year federal ban on online sports betting, more than 35 states have legalized the practice in some form . Of those, only a handful specifically prohibit the use of credit cards to fund bets.Of the $15.5 billion total expected wager on this year바카라 게임 웹사이트�s March Madness, it바카라 게임 웹사이트�s unknown what fraction will be placed using credit cards, though betting operators argue that it바카라 게임 웹사이트�s a relatively small percentage.바카라 게임 웹사이트�Using a credit card for gambling is definitely higher risk,바카라 게임 웹사이트� said Keith Whyte, executive director of the National Council on Problem Gambling . Yet he stopped short of noting any specific correlation between problem gambling and credit card use, citing a lack of research.Because legal online sports betting in the U.S. is so new, data is scarce on the exact impact of credit card use for American gamblers. But in a 2021 study on general credit card spending, MIT바카라 게임 웹사이트�s Sloan School of Management found that by reducing the pain of payment, 바카라 게임 웹사이트�(credit cards) 바카라 게임 웹사이트�step on the gas바카라 게임 웹사이트� by driving motivation to spend .바카라 게임 웹사이트�And in Great Britain, where online sports betting has been legalized and widely available for much longer, the use of credit cards was banned in 2020. This ban came after a 2019 study by the United Kingdom Gambling Commission found 바카라 게임 웹사이트�22% of online gamblers using credit cards (were) problem gamblers, with even more suffering some form of gambling harm. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�Hidden costs of credit card gamblingEven if you바카라 게임 웹사이트�re willing to accept the risk of sports betting with your credit card, spiraling spending isn바카라 게임 웹사이트�t the only potential downside. Other forms of gambling harm, Whyte explains, 바카라 게임 웹사이트�might just include losing more money than you planned.바카라 게임 웹사이트�When those losses are incurred on a credit card, interest and fees can far surpass the initial bet. And if you바카라 게임 웹사이트�re not careful, late payments or spikes in credit utilization can have a long-lasting negative impact on your credit score.Plus 바카라 게임 웹사이트� because gambling policies vary widely by credit card issuer, payment processor, and betting site 바카라 게임 웹사이트� fees can be unpredictable and add up quickly. These can include transaction fees, cash advance fees and even foreign transaction fees if the betting site happens to be offshore.Sites like FanDuel do offer tools for gamblers to self-limit deposits, wagers and time spent . But in most cases gamblers have to opt into 바카라 게임 웹사이트� not out of 바카라 게임 웹사이트� such guardrails, and the options aren바카라 게임 웹사이트�t prominently displayed. Representatives from FanDuel did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this story.Rough road to victoryOnline sports betting is changing quickly, and researchers, payment processors, and state and federal regulators will haggle for years to come over the appropriate credit card guardrails. Instead of chasing bets on this year바카라 게임 웹사이트�s road to the Final Four, Cappelen is beginning the long trudge to recovery. To tackle that $83,000 debt, Cappelen sought help through Take Charge America, a nonprofit organization that works with debt holders to close problematic credit card accounts, negotiate interest rates and consolidate payments.바카라 게임 웹사이트�The plan itself is going to take four years and eight months to pay off,바카라 게임 웹사이트� Cappelen said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트�It바카라 게임 웹사이트�s going to be tough, but it바카라 게임 웹사이트�s doable. And at least there바카라 게임 웹사이트�s an end in sight.바카라 게임 웹사이트�If you or anyone you know has a gambling problem, resources are available through the National Council on Problem Gambling. Call or text 800-522-4700 for assistance.