Inside: Teen online gambling may not be on your parenting radar, but it should be. New laws, aggressive social media advertising, and tech loopholes are making it easily accessible to adolescents.
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You think you have all the talks with your teens: drugs, alcohol, sex, mental health, etc., and then you find out there is something new to worry about. Recently, I heard that some teens have lost tens of thousands of dollars (in one case, their entire college fund of $70K) while gambling online. My mouth dropped (literally), and when I started digging into it, I heard more stories. One friend shared how her college-aged daughter’s next-door dorm neighbor had to leave campus because of an addiction to online gambling, and another shared how a young man became so in debt that he attempted to die by suicide.
The totals are staggering, and since this issue was not as prevalent in years past, you may not have had this discussion with your teenagers. Up until 2018, online gambling wasn’t a thing (it still isn’t legal in some states), and many parents are still catching up on the news.
Related: 8 Ways to Keep High Schoolers Safe in Today’s Chaotic World
What Parents Need to Know about Teen Online Gambling
The first thing you need to know as a parent is that teen online gambling isn’t limited to college students. A recent Bark survey found that 74 percent of boys and 27 percent of girls at a California high school have admitted to placing an online sports bet. Most of these were on the app Fliff, a free “play-for-fun” social betting site that gives each user $1 per day to gamble. The app’s terms of service state that users must be 18, but we all know that determined teens will find a workaround.
The National Council on Problem Gambling has found that 60 to 80 percent of high schoolers have gambled in the past year, and 14 to 19 percent either fit the criteria of having a gambling problem or are showing “signs of losing control.” Overall, high schoolers exhibit double the rate of gambling issues as adults. Unfortunately, there are no signs that teen online gambling is slowing down.
Lia Nower, Director of the Rutgers Center for Gambling Studies, is concerned about these social sports wagering apps becoming a gateway into more aggressive gambling “because they are pretty much accessible to every kid. A little kid in grade school can get on these apps, and they teach you how to play stats using virtual currency. Then at some point, you have the possibility of turning that into real currency and then actually gambling.” At that point, she says underage gamblers have two choices: to use someone else’s account, or go to an offshore site.
Age Confirmation Challenges Make Teen Online Gambling Access Easier
Technology has changed our lives in many ways. It has made life easier and much more complicated. While you can’t even step into a casino if you are underage, if you have a phone, you can now place a bet from almost anywhere. While there are regulations (gambling apps need to verify age and location), they are difficult to enforce. Teens may “borrow” IDs from friends or family or use a Virtual Private Network to show their location as being someplace legal to gamble. And with virtually everything today being “gamified,” it’s really no surprise so many of them get sucked in.
We may not think of it in this way, but many of us gamble regularly. We buy lottery tickets, play the stock market, or buy a ticket for a fundraising raffle. We participate in fantasy football or create March Madness brackets. We may even bet using gambling apps. Much of this seems innocuous enough, but our teens are watching, and their brains work differently than adults’. Their teen brains often do not understand risk, and their underdeveloped perspective and life experience more easily convince them that they can beat the system and win big.
In an article entitled Online Gambling and Youth, Marc N. Potenza, et al. says, “Adolescents are at a developmental stage characterized by increased autonomy, identity formation, social exploration, and brain development and often have high levels of sensation-seeking and impulsivity. As such, addictive or problematic engagement in gambling may have significant impacts on developmental trajectories in youth.” Simply put, teens are more likely to form addictions than adults are. It’s also important to note that adolescent gambling disorder is linked to several teen mental health issues, and that gambling disorder has the highest rates of suicide of all addictions.
While gambling addiction affects a relatively low segment of the population (about 5 percent of adolescents), the numbers are growing and even casual users can encounter problems, such as debt or developing a mental health issue. Some experts blame video games, which entice users to buy “loot boxes” that offer the chance to “win” special tools or coins, rather than earning them through play. Others say gambling apps are not a problem. No matter the cause, experts agree that education is the cure.
How Parents Should Address Teen Online Gambling
1. Include gambling in financial literacy conversations
Nower says that a conversation about gambling “has to start in grade school or middle school. That’s how young these kids are getting hooked into this.” She shares a story from a colleague who overheard a conversation at her 9-year old’s soccer game. The father was pulling his kids, saying, “Come on we need to get home in time to make our first bets.” Nower is concerned that kids are getting the wrong message from trusted adults who may not be aware of potential consequences. “They need to be educated that gambling is just as addictive as substances. That message is definitely not clear,” she says.
2. Use parental controls and common-sense tech rules
Older kids may find a way around them, but parental controls are an effective way to protect most tweens and younger teens (The Parenting Teens and Tweens editorial team recommends Bark.) Block gambling websites and require the use of a password to make in-app purchases. As your teen gets older and more responsible, talk about expectations and appropriate consequences. Have tech rules that help you know what they are doing online. Consider only allowing computer use in common areas, at least at younger ages, and keep phones and computers out of bedrooms overnight. (Of course, rules should change as they get older and more mature, to allow them to learn how to self-regulate while they still have a safety net.) Most importantly, mentor and model these rules for your teens. If they see you doing it, they will think it’s okay.
3. Pay attention to what they are watching
Rob Minnick, founder of One Day at a Time Gambling Awareness, openly shares about his struggle with gambling addiction on TikTok and his podcast, where he says his message competes with thousands of other accounts that only show gamblers winning. While many teens learn about gambling from social media influencers, Minnick says parents also need to pay attention to what their kids watch on YouTube, where you can watch people streaming video games and casino play. Of course, most of these videos show people when they win big and not when they lose everything.
4. Know their gaming habits
For years, we have worried about violence in video games. But just about any game can be problematic for those who believe they can win, if only they have the right extras. Ask your kids about the games they are playing. Even better, ask them to teach you and play along with them. Talk about why it’s not a good idea to buy “loot boxes” and who actually benefits when they make these purchases.
Minnick says parents should be especially wary of free-to-play mobile-based video games, which “don’t have to abide by any of the same regulations that a Fan Duel or DraftKings does. The free-to-play mobile games are actively built to get you get addicted. And they don’t try to hide it.” He adds, “I think that’s where a lot of kids will have one of their earlier experiences with Blackjack or roulette. It’s just normalizing the behavior in the brain.”
5. Talk about ads and algorithms
Many families enjoy watching major sporting events, which often run ads promoting online gambling sites and apps. Some companies such as FanDuel and Draft Kings, also use direct mail, sending post cards that offer “free” money to place bets. Celebrity sponsors only add to the appeal. Talk about how these companies make their money. Get your kids thinking about how much money people have to lose for the companies to make a profit. Remind them that celebrities are being paid to appear in these commercials, and that many of them can afford to lose more money than your teen spends in a year. Explain how social media algorithms push out content based on what users click on. If you watch and “like” TikTok videos showing people winning when they gambler, the site will show you more of the same.
6. Support efforts that promote responsible gambling
Find out if your local schools offer gambling awareness programs. The National Council on Problem Gambling sees underage gambling as a problem; of the organization’s ten Agility Grants for gambling prevention awarded in 2023, six focus on middle or high school students. Remind your kids that gambling is, by law, an adult-only activity. Model responsible behavior such as deciding beforehand how much you are willing to gamble and stick to it.
And if you discover your teen has been gambling (which likely means they have also been lying about it), ask questions. Why did they start? How long have they been placing bets? How much have they lost? Depending on the answers, you might need to seek professional help.
What to do if you suspect a Teen Online Gambling problem
The National Council on Problem Gambling’s hotline 1-800- GAMBLER has free resources, or you might want to consult a therapist that specializes in gambling addiction.
Looking for additional resources on Teen Online Gaming?
We like this book, 100 Questions about Gambling Addiction.
Parenting Teens and Tweens Is Hard, But You Don’t Have to Do It Alone. These articles may help:
House Rules to Teach Teens to Be Safe and Respectful
Technology Can Make Your Teen Anxious And Depressed, Here’s How To Help
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