*The name of this interviewee is a pseudonym to protect their confidentiality.
As online gambling rates have increased nationally, especially among teens, many M-A students, particularly males, have been swept up in its growing popularity. Whether it’s through online platforms, sports betting, or group card games, students have fallen prey to its addictive nature.
Many experts attribute the popularity of gambling among male adolescents to three main factors. First, men are more likely to be involved sports fans, which pushes them to bet on games more frequently. Men are also more likely to use gambling as a social event and tend to be more impulsive in stressful situations due to a lack of development in their prefrontal cortex.
Some M-A students interviewed explained that their addiction started with ads for gambling apps, which have flooded the internet and promote a narrative of easy, big wins. “I started gambling because I saw multiple advertisements online, like on TikTok, and I thought it would be a fun way to earn some money with hardly any work,” Paul* said.
Many students interviewed explained that they started gambling because their friends were. “I started because my friend told me about this app called Yotta, which has all these fun games on it, like blackjack and plinko, that you can bet on. I would put a few dollars down and actually ended up multiplying it from $20 to $130, which is how I really got into gambling,” Carl* said.
Gambling culture isn’t limited to online games. As it has become more popular, many students have started gambling in person with games like poker as a social activity to meet up and have fun with their friends. “It’s a fun way to hang out and talk, we use it as an activity on Friday nights so that we can catch up with each other while getting the thrill of betting small amounts of money,” Jack* said. “The main reason I play is just that it’s something fun to do with my friends. It’s a good reason to get together, and the added bonus of having the chance to win money off of them makes it that much better.”
Though gambling may seem like a harmless form of entertainment, it comes with significant risks that can negatively affect one’s mental health. Due to the fact that the brains of teens are poorer at weighing risks, the feeling and uncertainty of winning causes youth gamblers to be four times more likely to get addicted later on in life. In addition to this, gambling opens the door to more serious problems, particularly substance abuse.
While betting small amounts of money may seem harmless, it can quickly spiral out of control, especially given men’s tendency toward impulsivity. Small bets can quickly rack up into hundreds of dollars, leaving some in financial trouble.
“It’s super easy to get carried away. Every game has a certain dollar amount buy-in for poker, and once you lose that, you don’t have a choice other than buying back in or quitting,” Jonathan* said. “There is definitely something to not being a quitter. You get so heated after losing your money that you just want to try and make that money back.”
“I feel so eager to win all the time, and that’s when I knew I needed to stop,” Dennis* said.
