Birches Health research validates virtual gambling addiction therapy

Birches Health has released findings from a major study analyzing the effectiveness of its remote treatment for gambling disorders. According to the data, 71.7% of patients showed clinically meaningful reductions in gambling symptom severity within just two weeks of starting therapy.

The study tracked 1,305 adults who received care through Birches Health between June 2024 and April 2026. The organization’s standard treatment options include wellness counseling, individual and group psychotherapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy, though the specific combination used in this research was not detailed. This dataset is the largest real-world collection of virtual gambling disorder treatment outcomes ever assembled in the United States.

Birches Health’s work earned a spot on the 2026 New York Digital Health 100 list, published in February by Digital Health New York (DHNY), which recognizes digital health companies driving measurable innovation.

Commenting on the study, founder and CEO Elliot Rapaport stated: "Gambling disorder has been treated as an afterthought in the US healthcare system for decades." He emphasized that individuals often lose their savings, families, jobs, and even lives, yet standard clinical care usually involves a referral to a generalist therapist without specialized training. Rapaport added: "This study is peer-reviewed evidence that a different model exists and that it works." He called on payers, employers, and state health systems to reconsider their approach to gambling addiction.

The positive results suggest that specialized virtual treatment can produce rapid improvements for a condition long neglected in mainstream healthcare.