I have heard of GDS students, predominantly young men, gambling in their free time since my freshman year. While gambling may sound like a fun pastime, students engaging in these games must recognize and navigate the fine line between harmless gambling and dangerous, lifelong addiction.
During community time and free periods, in the forum, many students place parlays and play poker. These types of gambling have become normalized among teenagers to an alarming point—gambling among kids has become so common that the rates of gambling are considerably higher in youth than in the general adult population. Gambling is dangerous in particular because it’s so accessible and heavily marketed to teenagers and can lead to financial issues.
“There are folks my age who are placing huge bets in gambling, spending and wasting a lot of money on sports spending apps,” health teacher Caitlin Hutcheon said. “They did not start when they were 16.” Hutcheon added that people she knows who began gambling as adults have become addicted, and developing an addiction is much easier for teenagers because children have not learned how to properly moderate their habits. Between four and eight percent of adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17 have a very serious gambling problem.
Hutcheon explained that when she was a teenager, the only way you could bet was to go to Vegas or to know a bookie. Now, sports betting apps and online gambling are right at our fingertips. “Apps can get you addicted,” sophomore Gabe Levine said. “When they take your credit card [information], not only could you be getting scammed, but they also offer you all these deals that suck you in.”
“There’s so much pressure on young men these days to make money and be wealthy, that [gambling] seems like it’s like a good financial scheme,” Hutcheon said. She added that gambling, especially in adolescence, primes your brain to develop a substance abuse habit later in life.
Gambling isn’t easy to address or to fix. Companies market gambling to teenagers with captivating video games and sports betting advertisements. I have often watched a YouTuber I enjoy, when, all of a sudden, they promote a gambling website like DraftKings—which, I will admit, is tempting to click on and learn more about.
I don’t blame my peers for succumbing to gambling advertisers’ tactics; gambling ads conceal their addictive nature with the guise of easy winnings. The ads portray gambling games as trustworthy and profitable by using celebrities and influencer endorsements. This causes many teenagers to view gambling as a regular form of entertainment. Because teenagers are still developing social skills, it’s dangerous to rely on gambling to interact with others. Though games such as fantasy football or poker can be fun to play with friends, it’s important to not lose yourself in the thrill of making money.
GDS students already have a variety of outlets to socialize with their friends. There are countless programs, restaurants and student organizations that can provide just as much fun as gambling without running the risk of developing an addiction. And, if you feel you already have developed a gambling addiction, you can reach out to a therapist, counselor, parent or trusted adult to acknowledge addiction.
Hutcheon even runs a special tenth-grade class about sports betting and its negative impacts on youth. In the class, tenth-graders learn about marketing and social media advertisements for gambling, the risks and harmful financial situations gambling leads to and the bigger question of why underage gambling is becoming a societal norm. For parents and other GDS students, in April, Hutcheon ran an event where former head of the American Association for Problem Gambling Keith Scott Whyte spoke about the harmful impact of adolescent gambling and how parents can restrict their children’s access to gambling sites. Hutcheon hopes to make the workshop an annual event.
Even though addiction can be difficult to talk about, telling others about your problem not only lets another person know you need help but also shows your willingness to change. With anything addictive, even if it is just gambling on a Saturday night with friends, moderation is key.