Ways Young People Gamble – Part 2: Sports Betting

Sports used to be about the game—the plays, the players, and whether your team would pull it off.

If you’ve got a kid who watches sports, you’ve probably heard it — spreads and parlays and whether someone “hit” last night. The game itself is almost beside the point. It’s just the thing you bet on.

Sports betting has exploded, and this is just the beginning. So many kids today are betting on sports, and a lot of them don’t even consider it gambling. It’s just what you do when you watch the game.

It’s Everywhere

Turn on any game and count the betting ads. Download an app, get a bonus. Bet on anything, anytime. It’s promoted like it’s just part of being a fan — and it’s endorsed by the celebrities and athletes our kids look up to.

With smartphones, our kids don’t need to go anywhere to place a bet. They can do it from the couch, from their room, or from school. The barriers that used to exist — having to go somewhere, having to interact with another person physically — those are gone.

And it’s not just betting on who wins anymore. There’s something called “microbetting” now — they can bet on the next play, the next pitch, whether there’s a flag on this drive—constant opportunities to put money down.

These apps also use AI to send personalized bonus offers and promotions. It’s not random. It’s designed to keep people betting.

The Bookie in the Group Chat

Bookies haven’t gone away. They’ve just moved online.

Many young people connect with bookies through friends, classmates, or social media. It happens in dorm rooms, at schools, through group chats. Someone knows a guy who can get better odds than the legal apps and doesn’t care how old you are. Or they operate in states where mobile betting isn’t legal yet. Or they extend you “credit” when you don’t have money to bet. There are many reasons young people still use bookies.

Money moves through Venmo, Cash App, and Zelle. It’s quiet. It’s casual. Our kids might not even think of it as “real” gambling because it feels like just a thing everyone does.

By the time we realize what’s happening, the debts and methods to extract payment can be serious.

Fantasy Sports

Fantasy sports used to be something people did with friends over a whole season. Draft a team, track your players, maybe put $20 in a pot for bragging rights. Connection and friendly competition.

That version still exists. But daily fantasy sports have turned it into something else — new picks every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Constant action, instant results, real money on the line over and over.

The line between “fantasy sports” and “sports betting” is basically gone.

Social and Sweepstakes Sportsbooks

Just like with casino games, there are now social and sweepstakes versions of sports betting, one example being an app called Fliff.

They market themselves as “free to play.” You use virtual coins. Looks harmless.

But you can buy more coins. And those “sweeps coins”or “special cash” they give you can be cashed out for real money. These sites often operate in legal gray areas with weak age verification, and they’re designed to get people hooked.

For our kids, it’s a training ground. They learn the mechanics, get comfortable with the excitement, feel the rush of “winning” — and then “real” gambling feels like a natural next step.

Prediction Markets
Prediction markets, like Kalshi and Polymarket, let people bet money on the outcome of future events — and sports is a big part of it. Will a team make the playoffs? Will a player get traded? Who wins MVP?

They’re marketed as “forecasting” rather than betting, but the mechanics are the same: you risk real money on something uncertain, hoping to win more. For young people, these platforms blend gambling with things they already follow closely, making it feel more like being smart about sports than placing bets.

The rush of being “right” and winning money can create the same patterns as any other form of gambling.

What Can You Do?

Pay attention to the language. If your kid is talking about point spreads, parlays, “locks,” or asking who you “like” in a game with a certain intensity — that’s worth a conversation.

Check the apps. The legal sportsbooks like DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM require age verification, but kids find workarounds. Sometimes parents even allow their child to use their account, not understanding the risk. The social and sweepstakes versions are much easier to access.

Follow the money. Unusual patterns in Venmo, Cash App, or bank accounts — frequent small transactions with unfamiliar names — can be a sign.

Ask about bookies directly. Your kid might not volunteer this, but asking “Does anyone at school use a bookie?” can open a door. Make it curious, not an accusation. Pay special attention if your child’s behavior changes on a certain day of the week, when the bookie is looking to settle up.

Talk to your kids about what those ads aren’t showing — the people who get in over their heads, the money that doesn’t come back. People who are no longer having fun, suffering hard consequences.

Think about your own habits. If we’re checking scores with a betting app open or talking about our own bets, our kids notice—the example we set matters.

If your kid plays fantasy sports, find out how. A season-long league with friends is one thing. Daily play for money is something else.

Sports betting has been normalized quickly. It’s easy to feel like we’re overreacting. Until we’re not. And trust us, we are not. Many of our own children have gone down the path of addiction, and it started with sports betting. It doesn’t happen to every kid, but these behaviors warrant careful attention, just as you would monitor drug and alcohol use.