The Darker Side Of Sports That Could Be Targeting Your Kids

Kurt Freudenberg did not fall into gambling as an adult looking for a fun diversion from the dull routine of life. He didn’t even start in college as a way to procrastinate on classwork. He placed his first bet at 11 years old. “I wouldn’t be tired. I wouldn’t be hungry. I wouldn’t want to do basic things like shower because I was gambling so much. So, I would gamble 15 plus hours a day, just in the action,” he said.

In today’s society, there is a smorgasbord of distractions offered to young men. Of them, sports gambling is one of the most insidious. It is presented as a harmless way to enhance the already enjoyable pastime of watching sports. A bet on a play here, a gamble on one match’s outcome there. These are advertised simply as ways for people who love sports to be even more involved in what they love. Whereas lawmakers are racing to curb the damage caused by unregulated online spaces, where kids are susceptible to overt sexual content and bad actors, sports gambling remains largely untouched. That is partly because it has become thoroughly intertwined with the cherished pastime of watching sports.

Over half of American men aged 18-49 have a sportsbook account. But it is not just adults who are supplementing their sports with gambling. A recent study from Common Sense Media found that more than a third of boys are gambling before the age of 18.

Considering the partnership between sports leagues and sportsbook companies, that is not a surprise. Leagues see live betting as a way to increase viewership. Viewers will stay tuned into a game if they have money riding on whether the next pitch will be a ball or a strike, or which team will win the 2nd quarter of an NBA game. This, in turn, increases the price of media rights deals.

A recent Washington Post report found that on average, a gambling reference, promotion, or commercial occurred every four minutes during professional or college sports games. These came in the form of gambling company logos behind goalposts, on hockey jerseys, betting promos read on air by sportscasters, and even point spreads scrolling across the bottom of the screen. Sports gambling advertising is impossible to ignore. The more people gamble, the higher the viewership rates. The incentive to keep this partnership going benefits both the gambling industry and the sports leagues.

Of course, it is not just advertisements during games that are the issue in our technological age. The four major companies — DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, and ESPN Bet — post more than 230 ads on social media every day. This explains why 59% of kids under 18 reported seeing gambling-related content in their algorithms without them proactively searching for it.

So far, one bill in Congress has been introduced to specifically address the issue of gambling ads targeting minors. Senators Katie Britt (R-AL) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) introduced the Gaming Advertisement to Minors Enforcement (GAME) Act, which would prohibit social media companies and other advertising companies from targeting minors with sports betting ads. This is critical because kids who start gambling before they turn 18 are 50% more likely to develop a gambling addiction.

However, this will not address the broader issue of how sports gambling has saturated the industry itself. Though it’s dressed as an easy way to heighten the fun of watching a game, sports gambling comes with all the same risks that gambling has had since time immemorial. Bankruptcy, loss of savings, depleted college funds, and domestic abuse — all have seen an increase since sports gambling’s legalization in 2018. Yet the gambling apps do not have the same negative stigma as driving to a casino to play the slots. And they make it far easier for kids like Kurt Freudenberg to fall into a life-altering vice.

So, how to cultivate a love of sports in kids without exposing them to the predation of the gambling industry? Raising children in the way they should go (i.e., enjoying the pleasures of life, like sports, in a responsible manner) is ultimately a parent’s responsibility. But technology is constantly undermining families. Many children, like Kurt, discover online gambling through friends or social media without their parents’ knowledge.

Congressional action would help by regulating who gambling apps can target, how many ads can be shown during sports games and at physical stadiums, curbing the addictive qualities of sports betting apps, and putting guardrails around the temptations that come with making a profit.

Kids don’t need the temptation to gamble in order to enjoy sports.

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Maggie McKneely is Director of Government Relations for Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, the nation’s largest public policy women’s organization. On X: @CWforA