Just six years ago, sports betting was considered illegal under United States federal law, until the Supreme Court legalized the practice after the landmark court case of Murphy v. NCAA. Now, it has become one of the fastest-growing gambling industries, with 29 states allowing online sports betting. In fact, according to National Public Radio (npr.org), Americans bet $120 billion on sports in 2023, a 28% increase from the previous year.
This growth has been, no doubt, driven by the multitude of advertisements and celebrity endorsements or brands on online sports betting websites. Numerous celebrities and internet personalities have been sponsored by such sites, thus endorsing these habits to their audiences, which has led to a widespread presence of these sites on numerous social media platforms.
Perhaps the greatest contributor to this increase is the rise of sports betting websites such as DraftKings or FanDuel, which have relatively lax rules, allowing people easy access to gambling options. Along with the growth of these sites, there has also been a booming popularity in “prop betting,” which is essentially betting on certain events or statistics, instead of the game’s outcome. This includes bets like the color of the Gatorade that is spilled on the winning team’s coach after the Superbowl or whether a player will be ejected during a crucial game. This accessibility and mainstream appeal of these platforms have made gambling more enticing for younger audiences.
However, there is a clear, underlying issue here: the drastic rise of illegal, underage gamblers. The sheer accessibility of these sites has caused an unprecedented surge in underage gamblers, according to research by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Health and Innovation. Not to mention, there are currently relatively lax laws surrounding online sports betting, with some states limiting it to 18 years or older, rather than the standard 21 years or older for most other forms of gambling, which makes it far easier for underage people to gain access to these sites. Of course, teens on average bet amounts that are much lower compared to the older population’s bets, betting, on average, from $1 to $50, according to The New York Times, but gambling addictions can spiral further as they become older without intervention. This drastic increase in online gambling among the younger generations can be dangerous, as it is especially easy for these gambling habits to become full-on addictions.
Online gambling sites, such as DraftKings, will only continue to show up on social media advertisements and as sponsors of your favorite celebrities. Until lawmakers redefine their laws and guidelines to account for the explosive growth of these online betting platforms, sports betting likely will only continue to grow and dominate the current gambling scene, perhaps even leading to a nationwide gambling epidemic.