Teen Sports Gambling
Worth Your Time!
Resource Recommendations to Help You Parent and Mentor Most Effectively
This Week's Recommendation:
"The Teen Addiction No One Is Talking About"
The Local Youth Worker Podcast
Episode #443 May 13, 2024
Available Here and on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Etc.
“You listen to the ads for like DraftKings or FanDuel, and you can download the app, and they give you incentives to gamble. And I’m just thinking of how easy it’s gonna be for young men particularly, to have that on their phone… and just how compulsive it is. And that, combined with sports, feeds that sort of competitive nature that men have.”
Why It Matters
Online sports betting often involves bad stewardship, addiction, illegal activity, lying, and other issues, but adults rarely discuss its wisdom and morality with teens. This is NOT teens just playing fantasy football with friends or paying $10 to fill out a bracket during March Madness in a friendly family competition. Adults need to know what’s going on and address it.
Online sports betting is common in the world of many young people that adults know personally. While I listened to this podcast a couple months ago, I waited to write about it until I could talk with young men at camp this summer and hear their personal experiences and observations, such as these:
One public school student estimated that 30% of the guys at his school gamble online. Another estimated 50%-60% at his school.
It seems to be most common among 11th and 12th graders, but one young man stated that he knows sophomores who bet, another said it became very common late in sophomore year, and another said it happens in all 4 high school grades.
Typical bets range from $10-$50, but several of the young men know people who have bet up to $500. One young man knew someone who lost $500 twice in a row.
While it’s most common at certain times of the year, such as football season and March Madness, it’s not limited to those times. One senior said it occurs “pretty often.”
It’s an addiction for some. One senior remarked, “Some people definitely have a problem.”
While many sites have age verification, it’s common to use an older brother’s, friend's, or dad’s account, even though it’s against the terms of service.
It’s more common in public schools, but it occurs in Christian schools too.
How to Use it
As I’ve said in the past, ask a young person about their peers and friends first. “Do many guys at your school gamble online on sports? What percentage do you think do it? How much do they bet? Where do they get the money? How do they get around the age restrictions? Do any of your friends do it?” Then you can ask them if they’ve ever done it themselves.
Even if the young person doesn’t currently gamble, it’s still helpful to talk about the wisdom of it. It’s likely even more common among young men in college and in the workplace, when they usually have more disposable income, are legally old enough, and have more peers doing it. A good conversation now may prevent problems later.
Monitor bank and credit card statements. The charges won’t necessarily be labeled clearly, so ask about any transactions that you’re not sure about.