I'm a college football player. Gambling apps exploit Gen Z – and ruin the game. | Opinion

Football season is here. Saturdays with college football, Sundays with the NFL. And as a freshman college football player, I’m immersed in the actual game of football. But for too many teenagers and young men like me, the real action isn’t on the field playing – it’s on their phones, betting on the games.

Last spring, when I was a senior in high school, I noticed a friend furiously tapping his phone during class. He wasn't texting with a friend. Instead, he was placing a bet of well over $100. He was a teenager secretly using his mom’s credit card. He’s not alone. At my school, kids of all grades were diving into the world of online sports betting, some spiraling into debts that could wreck their lives.

Betting sites like FanDuel, DraftKings and BetMGM are everywhere a teenage boy would be. They run slick ads featuring celebrities hyping the thrill of a big betting win. These ads are all over sports broadcasts and social media, and my peers see them and feel the pull to prove they’re sports geniuses who can make money. But how do teens get the cash?

Often from parents, sometimes from afterschool jobs and sometimes by selling their stuff when they get in too deep.

March Madness can lead to gambling madness

March Madness showed how quickly things can get out of control. Some friends started with small wagers on the premier college basketball tournament, but after a few wins they doubled or tripled their bets – only to lose hundreds of dollars in a matter of days.

Some thought they had special knowledge about basketball – or other sports like UFC or football – only to lose more than they ever expected. 

The fallout is more than financial. It can lead to a son having to explain to his mother why money is missing. Or to a teenager withdrawing from his friends out of shame and embarrassment. Schoolwork can suffer while students chase their losses with more bets.

Now with football, some of my peers don't feel like watching an NFL game is exciting anymore without money on the line. That’s what makes this season dangerous: Every game is a gambling opportunity.

Why is sports gambling so popular?

The social fallout is brutal, too. Heavy bettors often pull back from their social networks. Some of my friends grew quiet, hiding their losses. Others skipped school, anxious about how to tell their parents. Some stayed up late tracking bets and let grades collapse.

Why is gambling so popular? Our brains don’t fully process the consequences of losing $100 or $1,000. The wins feel like a drug, and apps exploit this with “free bets” and fast payouts. It’s also a status thing ‒ bragging about wins makes you look cool.

Schools have started to notice, but their approach doesn’t connect. At my school, they did try to warn us. We had a counselor who gave a talk with slides, but it really just fell on deaf ears.

Schools should teach about gambling like they do about drugs or alcohol, so that we know what the real risks are. Parents need to step in, too, not just to talk about money but about why teens are drawn to betting in the first place. My friends aren’t bad kids ‒ they’re chasing a high they don’t understand.

These aren’t far-off stories. They’re happening now.

Football season should be about the games, not kids glued to betting apps. The culture makes it cool, the apps make it easy but the cost is devastating.

Sports betting isn’t fun anymore ‒ it’s a high-stakes epidemic hitting teenagers hardest.

Eli Thompson is a college student and writer focused on Gen Z issues, with an article in The Wall Street Journal, appearances on NBC Chicago, WGN and SiriusXM Patriot and two years as a twice-weekly contributor to a nationally syndicated radio show affiliated with CBS, NBC, Fox and CNBC.