Teen Gambling Problems Frequently Start With Online Sportsbook Betting: Study

Researchers call for more focused efforts to prevent teen gambling, amid increasing advertising by sportsbooks, which often target college students and young adults.

A new study finds that most teens who suffer from gambling problems are frequently betting using popular online sportsbook sites, like DraftKings and FanDuel, which currently face a growing number of lawsuits alleging they improperly target users that show signs of gambling addiction.

In findings published in the medical journal JAMA Pediatrics on May 12, researchers from Hamline University in St. Paul, Minnesota warn that nearly 8% of teens in that state are now considered frequent gamblers, and just under one percent are “problem gamblers”. However, a quarter of frequent teen gamblers, and three-quarters of problem teen gamblers say they all used online sportsbook sites, leading researchers to call for more focused efforts to raise awareness about the dangers of the platforms.

Online sports betting websites have significantly increased in popularity in recent years, as more states have legalized gambling. This has led to a growing number of sports gambling addiction lawsuits targeting sites like DraftKings and FanDuel, involving allegations that the platforms are intentionally designed to encourage gambling addiction through constant alerts and aggressive promotions, even after the consumer shows signs of harmful behavior.

Researchers in this latest study analyzed data on more than 83,000 youths aged 12-20, from the Minnesota Student Survey of 2022, with 99% being aged 13-17. Participants self-reported and remained anonymous.

The research team, led by Dr. Serena M. King, defined frequent gambling as once a week or more, and problem gambling was determined through the Brief Adolescent Gambling Screen (BAGS) score of 4 or higher.

The researchers discovered that 7.9% of youths in the survey were frequent gamblers, mostly males. The most frequent form of gambling was informal sports gambling, followed by formal sports betting at just under 60%. A quarter of frequent gamblers reported using online gambling sites.

But among problem gamblers, who represented 0.7% of the surveyed students, online gambling site use was reportedly more than 75%. However, researchers noted that problem gamblers frequently reported engaging with multiple types of gambling.

“Sports betting may be an important pathway for frequent and problematic gambling. The majority of problem and frequent gamblers engaged in online gambling, suggesting it is an important area for harm reduction, risk detection, and intervention,” King said.

The authors emphasize the growing need for early screening, prevention and intervention strategies as youth face increasing exposure to both sports and online gambling.