Editor’s note: The name Nick is a pseudonym used to protect the student’s identity.
While the rest of the class was packing up as the bell rang last month, Nick remained rooted to his seat, clutching his phone as he nervously watched the livestream of the most recent March Madness college basketball game.
To Nick, there was more at stake than just the match; he had bet the rest of his cash on this game, banking on the victory to finally pull him out of the red. Heart plummeting, he checked his account on FanDuel, a popular sports betting app, to see that he was down another $220.
Nick is one of millions of teens who illegally participate in online sports betting and risk becoming addicted to it. Convenient mobile apps, coupled with a lack of effective safeguards, have made gambling more accessible than ever.
In the past, sports gambling was outlawed across the nation due to major betting scandals in the MLB, NBA and NFL, as well as other minor leagues.
Patrons who were caught were often met with hefty fines and lengthy jail sentences. As a result, sports gambling was pushed to the margins, occurring on a much smaller scale and largely controlled by local bookies.
But, following a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2018, 38 states — including California — legalized sports betting for those over 18 or 21 depending on the state. As a result, the amount of money Americans have been putting into sports wagers has risen steadily. In 2024, sports betting revenue reached an all-time high at $13.17 billion, a 25.4% increase from 2023.
No longer do bettors have to physically confirm their IDs and authorize their ages — now the only thing barring teens from the dangers of gambling addiction are a few easy-to-fool online age verification procedures.
Most mobile betting apps, the most prevalent ones being FanDuel and Stake, require a picture of the user’s ID and their Social Security number to begin placing bets. But the safeguards can easily be bypassed, the teenage bettors told The Falcon.
Oftentimes, minors can insert a picture of any legal adult, generally a parent or a guardian, and enter the app without them ever knowing. Other alternatives include using an adult’s drivers license or Social Security number, and inputting their own contact and bank account information. This gives the teenager complete control over the account.
While apps claim to freeze underaged accounts, students agree these companies seem to have little regard for who is actually using them.
A junior boy told The Falcon, “I don’t think that they care if the information is accurate — there are websites which ask you to take a picture of yourself to corroborate with your ID, but these [sports gambling] apps don’t do anything like that. As long as people are using the app, they probably don’t care who it is.”
Adolescent gambling is a nationwide problem. The National Council for Problem Gambling indicates that 60% of high school students gambled for money in the past year, a 61% increase after the legalization of sports betting.
Experts say gambling at a young age often leads to more addictive behaviors later in life, as teenagers’ brains are uniquely impressionable, causing behaviors that can spiral into lifelong vices.
To increase consistent usage, many apps also incorporate a “streak” feature, presenting users with rewards for consistently placing bets. Combined with the inherently addictive nature of gambling and the relative youth of the users, online sports gambling is a potent addiction.
“I can’t help myself from checking all the time,” a sophomore gambler said. “I definitely feel like it’s an addiction. It’s like a video game — the dopamine you get from winning is really fun and losing is just an incentive to keep playing.”
Researchers from the JAMA School of Psychiatry have shown that gambling and other addictive activities, light up a specific region in the brain called the prefrontal cortex by releasing dopamine, which acts as the brain’s reward system. The addictive nature of the activity isn’t mental, it’s biological, making it harder than ever to stop.
The more someone loses, however, the more stressful it gets.
“It’s something else I have to worry about,” a junior boy said. “When I used to gamble a lot of money, it was really stressful, but now my bets are between $5-$10, so I don’t think too much about it anymore.”
This stress reflects a deeper issue at the heart of teen gambling — the emotional strain caused by constant risk and reward cycles paired with the adolescent brain, can contribute to long-term addiction.
Students found that they were lured into gambling due to the constant presence of sports betting ads on athletic streaming platforms.
Commercials promise viewers free money for betting on games which they are already watching, framing gambling as a risk-free thrill. In fact, companies are aware of how enticing these promotions are for younger users, who are more susceptible to the charm. They even offer a $50 bonus for creating an account, making it easier than ever for potential customers to place their first bet. The companies know they’ll almost always make it back the amount and then some with every customer.
Experts say this behavior pattern is typical — once a user gets hooked, the interest in gambling can grow into an actual addition. Business Insider has reported that “once someone gambles on an NBA or NFL game, they develop a taste for gambling on other things, too.”
That gives companies more avenues to dip into consumers’ wallets, many of which are more lucrative than sports betting.
By using their own money and contact information on the apps, students are effectively able to conceal their gambling habit from their parents.
“I don’t spend a lot of time on it at home, and watching the games is pretty normal for me,” a sophomore boy said. “If my parents were to find out, they probably wouldn’t be OK with it.”
Different students, however, have found a safer alternative to sports gambling through apps like Stadium Live and Batalapp, which allow patrons to place fake bets on different sports games.
While the apps are targeted towards an audience of ages 17 and over, it is legal for anyone to download and begin playing.
Rather than risking real money on these games, these apps act like video games — allowing users to wager fake cash on contests. In doing so, they receive a similar dopamine rush they would get from real gambling without the risk of losing money.
Students told The Falcon this form of gambling actually disincentivizes them from engaging in more dangerous activities when they grow up.
“I don’t want to lose any of my real money in the future — by using fake betting apps I get the same dopamine rush, but it’s way less stressful,” they said. “I know now that I wouldn’t want to actually bet as an adult.”
