Dr. Robert Custer, a pioneer in treating gambling addictions, once said, “Compulsive gambling is an emotional illness. It is characterized by an inability to stop gambling regardless of financial loss or negative impact on one’s life.” What has once been a harmless pastime for sports fans has now become a multi-billion dollar industry that takes advantage of its customers. Sports betting has been on the rise for decades now, but has now taken a dark turn as underage high schoolers are now illegally getting in on the action for a quick buck.
A large number of high schoolers across America have been caught accessing these 21+ betting sites by using their friends’, siblings’ or parents’ information when signing up on these sites.
There are a few larger-than-life betting sites such as Fanduel, DraftKings and BetMGM that are easy to access; however, there has also been a recent spike in other, smaller, sports gambling apps such as PrizePicks, Fanatics Sportsbook, ESPN BET, BET365, etc.
An anonymous student who attended Patriot High School in Virginia spoke of his experience and ability to use sports betting apps illegally, saying, “I attained my account to begin with by using my brother’s ID as he is of age, and then I moved into using my fake ID to gamble and that’s what I use now.”
Research suggests that introduced teens to these sports betting sites at a young age can lead to early onset gambling addictions due to the convenient accessibility and the impulsive urge that comes with the dopamine hit from gambling. According to the Massachusetts’ Department of Public Health, “Research shows that children introduced to ‘harmless betting’ by age 12 are four times more likely to engage in problem gambling later. A teen’s brain, with an underdeveloped logic center, isn’t wired yet to weigh risk and make healthy choices. So that ‘win’ on an online game today can lead to the negative side effects of real-life gambling tomorrow.”
The sports betting industry is still one of the most profitable businesses on the market, continuing to grow at a rapid pace each year. The market recently posted a heart-stopping $10.92 billion profit in 2023. The betting market follows the state of the American economy with each year, making expansive profit margins each year, to continue its legacy of profiting off of the hopes of a bet that could possibly hit.
