An inside look at NEPM's new series, "High Stakes: Gambling Addiction, Beyond Borders." Reporter Karen Brown traveled to Norway and the United Kingdom to learn how other countries are balancing the excessive spread of legal betting with the risk of gambling disorders — and looked at similar efforts within the United States.

As sports betting expands across the U.S., states are on their own to make the rules. A growing movement of U.S. health leaders and legislators want to strengthen and standardize the way gambling is regulated. But they are facing opposition from the betting industry.

In 2005, the U.K. passed a law that liberalized the gambling industry, which had previously been merely tolerated. Public health leaders across the Atlantic say the U.S. should take note of the challenges the U.K. has faced since gambling spread to almost every city.

For the first time in six years, Beacon Hill rewrites its rule book — promising transparency, but leaving plenty of room to operate in the dark.