The ability to gamble is easier than ever. With prediction apps, it all seems so scientific but in fact, it is just a gamble. Just download the prediction app on your phone, take the bet and you have eliminated the entire casino experience. What you have not eliminated is the risk, the stress and the potential problems for your family and yourself. Essentially, like so many life activities, phones and apps have replaced casinos. Giving people the ease to utilize their phones to gamble and making it feel all like less of a gamble, places more families at risk to lose their hard earned money. It also may result in a loss of trust between couples as the financial hole may deepen, while your non-gambling spouse thinks all is well.
Gambling Addiction, Prediction Apps & Thanksgiving Football: A New Threat in Divorce
While gambling can be fun for many, for others it may be an addiction that causes anxiety, tremendous stress and loss. What is different now is how easy it is to gamble. You don’t need a casino; you just need your phone. Moreover, with the prediction app, you feel more secure to place the bet.
For high-net-worth individuals who are separated, divorcing, or thinking about divorce, the popularity of sports betting and prediction market apps are an additional vehicle to engage in risky behavior that may mean a large loss of assets. Just take Thanksgiving football as an example. While lots of people look forward to Thanksgiving football, for those who are addicted to gambling, Thanksgiving football may be an actual trigger. Sad to say, Thanksgiving football could put your family and other families throughout New York in a financial hole and create division between couples.
The App Makes Gambling Feel Scientific
Sportsbooks, fantasy apps, and “prediction markets” have transformed your phone into a pocket size casino. These platforms let users place their bets on everything from NFL games to election outcomes.
The popular show Southpark decided to illustrate just how frenetic this type of gambling really is. A recent episode of Southpark illustrates how a fictional prediction app can go literally go viral. In the Southpark series, the children were using the app to bet on the gender of a classmate and other fictional events. The episode caught the attention of prediction markets with platforms such as Myriad and Polymarket reacting by betting on whether they would get an honorable mention in the show.
For someone with a gambling addiction, this easy accessible gambling is dangerous. There are no trips to the casino for your spouse to notice or even question. There are no tell-tale signs. Monies just move in and out of accounts via the app and your phone.
Why Thanksgiving Football Isn’t So Innocent A Game
While many people are filling up on turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce, taking the time to spend with family and just enjoying the football game, others are focused on watching every football play throughout the day, with live betting options on every drive, every play, and every player. It all seems so innocent that you may not even notice your spouse is burning down the financial house with the focus on Thanksgiving football. By the time Monday morning rolls around, the loss may be extensive.
How Gambling Losses Are Divided Up in a New York Divorce
When a spouse has gambled away the family fortune, who pays the price? In New York, losses through gambling may be considered a wasteful dissipation of assets. If your spouse has utilized marital funds for excessive gambling, you may be entitled to recoup your equitable share in a divorce. You may receive a greater share of the marital assets that are left.
So how do you go about getting back your fair share of the gambling losses?
Retain a trusted attorney who can help you.
Your attorney may in turn conduct discovery, depositions and even enlist a forensic accounting firm to figure out just how much has been gambled away. After all, you must quantify the losses. This means a thorough examination of brokerage and bank account statements, investment accounts, credit card accounts, tax returns and even retirement accounts. After all, it is possible that your spouse was withdrawing monies from 401(k)s and IRAs to fund their gambling addiction. The discovery search will be broad but comprehensive. You should also make sure to look at 529 accounts as it is even possible your spouse was using 529 funds set aside for your children’s education to fund their addiction.
Alternatives to Divorce
Perhaps, you don’t want to file for divorce. There may be many reasons to wait. A postnuptial agreement may be a solution to protect your assets, income and to indemnify you against future liabilities. A postnup is an agreement entered into after marriage in which you can even contract to deal with your losses.
You may not be ready to file for divorce immediately. Or you may want to protect your finances while you give your spouse an opportunity to seek treatment. In either case, you have tools. For high-net-worth couples, a carefully drafted postnup can help protect your business and other investments while your spouse can get the help that they need.
Protecting Yourself & Your Family
Living with a spouse who has a gambling addiction means that you need to protect yourself and your children.
Some key steps can help you regain control:
Protect your information.
Get copies of account statements, tax returns, loan documents, and any evidence of gambling before they “disappear.”
Get professional support.
A therapist can help you process betrayal and anxiety; a financial planner can help you assess your position and model your post-divorce future. A divorce attorney can help you prepare and negotiate a postnuptial agreement or file for divorce. Your divorce attorney can help you quantify the wasteful dissipation of assets and can negotiate a fair settlement.
Consider the children.
If gambling has led to instability, conflict, or neglect, it may affect custody and parenting-time decisions. Courts look closely at each parent’s ability to provide a stable, secure environment.