'Public health crisis': Experts weigh the stakes of youth gambling in America
How the rise of a new form of online betting is threatening the nation's youth
Rob Minnick was a New Jersey high school student scooping ice cream for minimum wage when he started gambling through a bookie. The draw, he recalls, seemed obvious.
"When I saw this concept that I could make $100 on a Phillies game versus working two days at the store, it was like, 'Why would I ever work again?'" said Minnick, now 27.
Over the next six years, Minnick went into debt six times. As his gambling habit grew, he took on a second job to support his addiction. He says he placed wagers, on average, for at least eight hours a day.
Minnick is part of the first generation to grow up in a world where gambling has come out of the shadows and into the mainstream. Ubiquitous advertisements on television and social media, often fronted by celebrities and sports idols, are now often the first exposure to gambling for children.
And the link between gambling early and gambling addiction has become increasingly clear. While only 1% of adults who gamble report addictions, the Journal of Behavioral Addictions reports that between 2% and 7% of young people who place bets report gambling addictions.
"Young people's brains are particularly susceptible to this because ... the parts of their brains that respond to these rewards develop more quickly," said Dr. Nasir Naqvi, the director of Columbia University's gambling disorders clinic. "So they become sensitive to these awards and to that dopamine release before the part of their brain that helps them to control these behaviors."
Naqvi says he now routinely hears about children as young as 13 seeking support for possible addictions to gambling.
"I don't want to overstate the problem. But yes ... it's a looming public health crisis," Naqvi told ABC News. "In fact, it's already here."
'Physiologically exciting'
An examination of the rise in youth gambling by ABC News' investigative unit, data team and nationwide network of affiliate stations indicates a troubling trend of gambling addictions among young people -- fueled by a new form of online wagering called micro-betting that experts warn can increase the risks.
While large-scale studies remain scant, a growing body of research shows that wagering at an early age can drastically increase the likelihood of developing a gambling addiction. A 2025 report in the journal International Gambling Studies shows gambling before age 18 was associated with a more than 80% higher risk of problem gambling later in life, even after accounting for social background factors.
Clinicians call gambling addiction a "progressive disorder."
"You don't gamble once and you're hooked; it gets progressively worse," said Dr. Jeffrey Derevensky, a psychology professor at McGill University who specializes in youth gambling addiction. "Gambling is physiologically exciting to many people, especially young males, and the way to keep that physiological arousal going is to do it more often and for higher amounts of money."
The legal gambling age in most states is 21. In some places, it's 18. But more and more teenagers are finding ways to place bets, often using video games or offshore platforms -- but also using legal betting platforms, like prediction markets and sports books, sometimes with the help of older family members.
Common Sense Media, the nation's largest child advocacy group, recently helped introduce legislation in California that would regulate how betting platforms advertise their product and require stricter age verification mechanisms. Similar legislation was introduced in New York state on Thursday.
"This is an opportunity for us to get ahead of the problem," said Jim Steyer, the CEO of Common Sense Media. "[With] gambling, the kids are already doing it, they're getting addicted. They're using platforms they shouldn't be on. They're wasting money and losing money, but there is a chance to intervene now."
Joe Maloney, the president of the Sports Betting Alliance, a trade group that represents online sports books like FanDuel and DraftKings, said legal online sports betting platforms maintain stringent controls meant to prevent underaged users from accessing their site, using mandatory age verification tools as well as data like bank account information and social security numbers.
Underaged gambling, Maloney said, is "not tolerated."
"It is a violation of the terms of service, and we are not here to engage in a conversation between parent or child, but we do communicate very, very clearly: This is a product for adults, and adults only," he said.
'The product has changed'
Since the Supreme Court paved the way for states to legalize sports betting in 2018, the industry has enjoyed a precipitous rise in popularity. In 2019, Americans legally wagered roughly $13 billion. Last year, that figure surpassed $160 billion.
The American Gaming Association predicts Americans will wager $3.3 billion alone on this year's NCAA men's and women's basketball tournaments -- and much of the money bet won't even rely on the outcome of those games.
Many fans are flocking to in-game micro-betting -- wagering on specific moments during the course of a game, like which team will score the next points in a basketball game or the speed of a pitch in a baseball game.
For Bryan Biehl, a pharmacist from the Philadelphia suburbs, the legalization of online sports gambling came shortly after his 21st birthday. He had experimented with sports betting in high school through a bookie, but Biehl said when he turned to online gambling, the problems escalated quickly.
"The apps really got me," he said. "I was gambling in the car, in the shower, late at night. I actually could not stop."
Biehl said his gambling addiction fueled a burgeoning alcohol addiction. Findings in a new study published in the policy journal "Health Economics" suggest that Biehl isn't alone: Sports gambling could be driving some men under the age of 35 to engage in binge drinking, the research shows.
Now 28 and in recovery, Biehl credits group therapy with saving his life.
For many clinicians, advocates, and experts, micro-betting has emerged as a key battleground in the fight to reign in gambling addiction.
"It used to be that you would bet on a game and then you only won or lost at the end of the game," said Naqvi, the neuroscientist at Columbia University. "But now there's a continuous engagement with the betting platforms during the game, and so it just creates a higher intensity type of behavior that is that much more addictive."
Dr. Harry Levant, a clinician and advocate with the Public Health Advisory Institute, described micro-betting as a sea change in how humans interact with wagering.
"Gambling has been around from the dawn of time," Levant said. "Because we are seeing an enormous increase of people struggling with gambling addiction, one of two things is so: Either in 2026, all of our brains have somehow changed, or the product has changed."
His conclusion? "The product has changed," Levant said.
Industry leaders counter that micro-betting is meant to cater to users interested in a deeper level of engagement with their favorite sports, teams or players -- not as a means to elicit addiction.
"Our companies continue to communicate ... that this is an entertainment exercise and not a wealth creation exercise," said Maloney, the president of the sports betting industry trade group. "If we were solely in the business of creating a set of problem gamblers or an addicted generation, we would not be in business."
On Thursday, attorneys representing an unidentified client sued DraftKings and FanDuel in Massachusetts state court over allegations that their apps are designed to addict users.
The lawsuit claims the two sports book apps "bombard gamblers ... with targeted notifications and advertisements precisely when they're most susceptible, like late at night or after a big loss."
Representatives for DraftKings and FanDuel did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
'There has to be a better way'
Levant has helped co-author both federal and state legislation that would prohibit micro-betting powered by artificial intelligence, which has the power to instantly adjust betting lines to favor the sports books and can analyze bettors' behavior to increase engagement. The federal legislation, introduced by Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., and Rep. Paul Tonko, D-N.Y., would also limit bettors' deposit amounts, regulate advertising, and ban certain types of promotion that could "induce gambling."
But advocates and lawmakers recognize it is an uphill battle. Part of what complicates the ability to pass meaningful legislation -- particularly in states with existing legalized sports books -- is the massive revenue generated by online betting platforms.
In 2025, online sports books generated at least $3.7 billion in taxes for state and local governments, up nearly a billion dollars from the previous year. In New York, online gaming apps brought in over $200 million more than table games and slots in December 2025, according to an ABC News analysis of data provided by Legal Sports Report.
"I'm sympathetic at state elected officials who have to balance their budgets. These are unprecedented times, I understand," Levant said. "With that said ... there has to be a better way."
Even if meaningful legislation makes its way into law, advocates say gambling has grown so deeply engrained in society that it likely will not be enough to mitigate the associated risks.
The apparent normalization of gambling in America means an entire generation of children may have learned about online betting from their favorite sports hero or comedian -- before their parents or educators can alert them to the risks, experts say.
"The clear message for parents here is that you have to have an ongoing discussion with your kids about this all day," Steyer said, adding that in addition to drugs, alcohol and social media, parents must be proactive about what he calls "the gambling factor."
Rob Minnick placed his last bet in November 2022. He now uses social media to engage with young people and help them avoid the mistakes he made. He hears from teens every day, he said. They consult him on anything from how to stop gambling to whether they should tell their parents they lost all their money.
"If it means that I have to make TikToks out of my little cubby in my second bedroom here until the day that I die -- I guess that is what it is,"
https://abcnews.com/US/public-health-crisis-experts-weigh-stakes-youth-gambling/story?id=131328317