Online sports betting is emerging as a growing digital distraction among adolescents, particularly teenage boys, experts warn.
The multi-billion-dollar industry is expanding rapidly as betting platforms become increasingly accessible through smartphone apps. Online gambling is expected to generate US$8.7 billion by 2030, up from US$3.9 billion in 2024, according to data compiled by Grand View Research, with sports betting registering the fastest growth.
“You can just turn on your phone and then all of a sudden you can be betting hundreds of dollars,” student Alex Bergman from Montreal’s Dawson College told Global News on Thursday.
Another student at the college, who asked not to be identified, said he lost $2,000 through online betting, including sports gambling.
“It’s so accessible. And it feels like when you’re not gambling, you’re missing out on making money, and you just have this urge to keep gambling,” he said.
Dr. Jeff Derevensky of McGill University, director of the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-risk Behaviours, says sports betting among youths is becoming an epidemic.
“I think we need to raise more awareness as a public health issue and as a mental health issue,” Derevensky told Global News in an interview. He says stronger regulations are needed.
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“Advertising, accessibility, availability will breed more individuals with gambling problems,” he said.
Rabbi Benjamin Bresinger runs Chabad Lifeline, a treatment and counselling centre for youth with at-risk behaviour and addiction. He says families are increasingly seeking help for teenagers hooked on online gambling, particularly sports betting.
“Boys between the ages of 12 and 16, that’s where it’s really taken off,” he said.
Experts say part of the appeal comes from slick advertising campaigns from a growing number of online sports betting websites and apps, some featuring high-profile celebrities and athletes.
Some of these high-profile names include Drake, Kendall Jenner, Connor McDavid, Wayne Gretzky, Kevin Hart, Jamie Foxx, Auston Matthews, LeBron James, Rob Gronkowski , Megan Thee Stallion, Peyton and Eli Manning, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tony Hawk, and Shaquille O’Neal.
The companies they have endorsed include BetMGM, Stake, Fanatics, FanDuel, DraftKings, Caesars Sportsbook, PokerStars and more.
‘Micro-betting’ concerns
In Ontario, a study published earlier this month said the rate of young men contacting Ontario’s mental health helpline for gambling-related problems has increased by more than 300 per cent after the province allowed private online gambling.
The researchers behind the study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal said the findings showed a need for stronger harm-reduction measures and more access to treatment.
Dr. Daniel Myran, a research chair at North York General Hospital who co-authored the study, said the study includes concerns around micro-betting and other types of gambling that are associated with higher risk of addiction.
“Let’s say that you bet on the outcome of the Super Bowl. It’s one bet that you’ve made. But you can now actually bet on events that occur within the game itself,” he said.
“That means that if you lose money, you might do what’s called loss chasing, where you try and re-wager it to win more, and it can really accelerate people into gambling disorders.”
Myran noted there has been a higher volume of gambling marketing since the privatization of betting in the province.
“I think that we need to think very carefully about who these ads are reaching and the messages that they’re conveying,” he said.
“When we see that the visits or the contacts have really gone up in young men, I think that this is exactly who’s being targeted by the advertisements and who’s going to be placing sports bets.”
He said the study’s findings underscore why gambling disorders need to be treated as a public health issue and treatment should be readily available.
–with files from The Canadian Press
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