Sports gambling leaves our kids in peril

A record $1.76 billion is expected to be wagered legally on Sunday's Super Bowl, but untold millions in illegal bets placed by teens and underage gamblers will spoil the jackpot.

A January study from Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that reviews the suitability of technology for children, found that a staggering 1 in 3 boys ages 11-17 gambled in the past year, and 12% of boys gambled on sports online. It's a good bet that many boys in New York will get caught up in the excitement and find a way to gamble illegally on the big game. More troubling — these underage gamblers won't stop when the game is over.

This is an epidemic unfolding in real time before our eyes. Our kids are in peril.

The Common Sense Media study also found that 27% of boys who gamble feel stressed or fight with their parents, and 40% wish they hadn't gambled at all. That's a clear sign that gambling overall and especially online sports betting — legal at 21 in New York State — is a gateway to addictive behaviors. It's ensnaring our youth.

The underdevelopment of the human brain during adolescence creates a ripe environment for addictive behaviors. What's more, “... aggressive advertising and media saturation that promotes betting as a fun, easy, and common daily habit," as the Common Sense report puts it, leads young boys to think they can beat the house. As a result, the report says, problem gambling is estimated to be two to four times higher among adolescents than adults.

Gambling among kids used to be confined to friendly wagers, like a $1 bet on the World Series with an uncle.

VIDEO GAMES AN ENTRY POINT

Kids already spending hours a day playing video games online are exposed to in-game features that mimic gambling, experts say. Features like chance-based rewards such as loot boxes bring kids one step closer to the world of gambling with real money and real consequences.

The Common Sense Media report states that video games can expose kids to gambling before they place bets using real money. Gambling sites that use features "that resemble video games ... often blur the line between gaming and gambling ..." There's a real danger that video games lay the groundwork for a possible lifetime of gambling addiction.

And social media offers a tempting gateway into gambling for teens. The rush of getting new followers or clicks from your post can set a kid up for a lifetime of gratification-seeking. Kids are duped into thinking gambling is just another game.

The potential for problem gambling exploded when, in 2018, the Supreme Court allowed states to legalize sports betting. After that, advertisements for sports betting proliferated online, in college and pro stadiums, and infiltrated popular sports talk shows and programs. People wanting to place a bet on a game used to have to go to a local bar to find an underground bookie. New York State legalized mobile sports betting in 2022, making it easier to be enticed by a buffet of hundreds if not thousands of betting options. That let the genie out of the bottle. Before then, modest sums of around $10 million to $25 million were wagered online in New York in a given month from September 2020 until December 2021. Almost overnight, that figure leaped to $1.7 billion wagered in the first month alone, according to Legal Sports Report.

SPORTS BETS CAN BE ADDICTIVE

Online sportsbooks require age verification and post messages of support for those struggling with gambling addiction. But as most teens can attest, getting around age verification is not hard.

Some Long Island schools are noticing staggering jumps in gambling among students, according to a Newsday news division story. These schools are adding gambling awareness to the curriculum so kids are taught that first and foremost, it's illegal in New York for them to gamble, and that the risks are severe.

New York lawmakers, too, are taking note of just how dangerous online gambling can be, and how quickly this can get out of control across the state.

Gov. Kathy Hochul, whose cellphone ban in schools has been widely recognized as successful in reducing screen time, wants to expand age verification and financial oversight for social media apps, including online sports betting sites. State Sen. Andrew Gounardes (D-Brooklyn) wants even more protections with his "Sports Wagering and Minors Act," a bill that, if adopted, would require sites like FanDuel to improve age verification by preventing underage users from using their parents’ accounts.

Calling for greater restrictions on underage gambling access and better and more prevention are essential to prevent kids from gambling. There are loopholes in New York law that must be closed. Additionally, the state needs a uniform legal gambling age. At 18, people can legally wager on fantasy sports and the traditional lottery, but have to wait until 21 to play Quick Draw and video lottery terminals and walk into a casino.

Online betting is a multibillion-dollar behemoth that has generated $3.8 billion in state tax revenue to date. How much of that windfall has come from underage gamblers? Parents have to be informed about how to spot the warning signs, and New York's regulators have to throw a flag on this illegal play.