What do Tom Brady, Kendall Jenner, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Jamie Foxx, Wayne Gretzky, Jon Hamm, Vanessa Hudgens, Vince Vaughn, Neil Patrick Harris, Kevin Garnett, Jerry Ferrara, Ryan Seacrest, Conor McGregor, and Neymar Jr. have in common?
- They are famous and successful,
- They are considered cool,
- Kids look up to them and model their behavior, and
- They have ALL pitched versions of online gambling, which is hurting our youth!
Now that we are past the Super Bowl, where over 67 million Americans wagered roughly $1.76 billion on the game, it’s time to address a crisis nobody seems to want to admit or talk about!!! Teenage Gambling!!
Children pay attention to everything that goes on, including betting on the Super Bowl by parents, friends, and older siblings! In my opinion, what has fueled this problem is ‘Proposition Betting” and “Prediction Markets!”
Now, casual fans can wager on the big game without having to know anything about the game. They can bet the coin toss and what color of Gatorade will be used to douse the winning coach, as is tradition. There were over 500 prop bets available to the public during the Super Bowl.
These “Prop Bets” cater to those with short attention spans, and with “Prop Bets,” every play can seem like a mini lottery ticket! There seem to be bets available every few minutes. What started as a sideshow is now the main event!
Back in the day, gambling was mostly confined to brick-and-mortar casinos, local bookies or Off-Track Betting parlors for horse racing wagering! It was very difficult for underage teens to place a bet, let alone develop a gambling problem.
Recently, I was at a St. John’s game at Madison Square Garden, and there were four teenage boys (with no parents) roughly in the 13-16 age range sitting two seats away from me. While my vision needs correction, my hearing has never been better. Although they were St. John’s fans, they were fixated on Butler’s #11 Finley Bizjack, whom they NEEDED to score at least 14 points. I asked if Bizjack was their favorite player, and the response was, “No, we have him in a 3-player parlay bet!”
Some disturbing “Teen Gambling” facts and statistics from www.Mass.com, the Massachusetts state website:
- Gambling is illegal for Americans under the age of 18.
- Gambling disorders can begin in children as young as 10 years old.
- Problem gambling impacts youths from 4x-8x compared to adults.
- By the time they get to high school, 60-80% of students reported that they gambled at least once in the past 12 months.
- 36% of adolescent boys (ages 11-17) reported gambling in the past year.
- Teens who illegally gamble are more likely to use illegal drugs.
- Among ALL addictions, gambling is linked to the highest suicide rate.
- Research shows that the children who are introduced to “harmless betting” by age 12 are 4 times more likely to engage in problem gambling later in life.
- Gaming.net surveyed 16-year-old boys, and 51% of them reported gambling on sports.
How did this all start? As legal gambling becomes more common in our society, youngsters are exposed to gambling at an earlier age! Examples include playing fantasy football, scratching off lottery tickets, and watching or joining adult poker games. Other types of gambling include playing online video games and even “casino-like” activities like roulette and slot machines, as gambling has been linked to gaming! 90% of teens say they play video games online!
Since the dramatic shift from gambling in brick-and-mortar betting parlors to the digital world of betting on smartphones, barriers of entry have been removed for our youth to make it easier than ever to access gambling platforms! Tech-savvy kids now can easily set up fake accounts, change their date of birth and proceed to gamble freely on their smartphones!
Unfortunately, what has happened is that the skyrocketing of gambling has outpaced regulatory frameworks designed to protect vulnerable parts of the population, especially minors!
As a society, America is way behind the gambling curve in many facets. TV and radio gambling advertising restrictions don’t exist.
This is a CRUCIAL time to check in with your kids and those you care about! Ask them who they know has a smartphone gambling problem! Odds are high that they will know at least 1 person who is in trouble and can reach out!
Age-verification platforms and parental guidance resources need to be ramped up immediately!