Sports betting can hook a teenager the way a drug does, and because there is no such thing as a gambling overdose, most parents never see it coming. That was the warning from a panel of counselors and prevention specialists at the Rye Free Reading Room in late June, at a program sponsored by the Rye Youth Council and first reported by The Rye Record.
The through-line: what looks like harmless betting among friends can turn into an addiction that wrecks a young person’s mental health, grades, and relationships, and it has gotten much easier to fall into since New York legalized sports betting in 2022. The panelists said Westchester County’s gambling rate runs roughly twice the statewide average, and that the pull got even stronger when the Knicks were in the NBA finals.
Here is the part that surprises people. The money is not the most addictive piece. The anticipation is. The wait before a bet resolves releases dopamine, the brain’s reward chemical, and gamblers chase that feeling over and over, which is what builds the cycle. Boys are especially susceptible to that thrill, the panelists said, and the problem tends to worsen over time.
“We often say in our practice, little people, little problems, big people, big problems,” said Anthony Palombi, a mental health counselor and one of the panelists.
The on-ramp starts younger than a sportsbook app. Games kids already play, like Roblox and Fortnite, come loaded with randomized rewards, premium purchases, and pay-to-win mechanics that the panelists said can normalize gambling-style behavior long before anyone places a real bet.
The reason it slips past parents is that gambling does not leave the physical evidence drugs and alcohol do. “You can’t ‘overdose’ from gambling,” said Monique Tricarico, an underage gambling prevention coordinator for Student Assistance Services Corp. By the time it surfaces, it is already hitting a kid’s mind, schoolwork, or relationships. Early signs include isolation, secrecy around devices, dropping extracurriculars, and missing school, according to the Problem Gambling Resource Center.
And it does not just resolve on its own. Genevieve Weber, a Rye resident and counselor who specializes in addiction, said that, as with alcoholism, gamblers can relapse and need both a commitment and a safe space to stay in remission.
What helps most is catching it early, Palombi said, and the way parents react matters. Rather than leading with strictness and anger, he said, parents should stay open and honest, answering their kids’ questions to build the kind of trust that discourages the behavior in the first place.
Peer pressure cuts both ways, too. Younger kids fear being left out and copy what older kids do, so Rye High School launched a program called “Say Something Say Anything,” in which older students talk to younger peers in health class about peer pressure. The pitch is simple: having even one supportive friend makes it easier to steer clear of gambling and other risky behavior.
The stakes are higher than a blown allowance. “People are surprised to learn that gambling is the addiction most correlated with suicide,” Tricarico said. “Adolescents are vulnerable and learning to deal with stress. They need to learn healthy stress coping strategies rather than gambling.” The Rye Youth Council framed it as a mix of shame, secrecy, financial loss, and hopelessness that can overwhelm a young person whose ability to think long term is still forming.
New York’s rules are supposed to keep minors out. Online betting requires users to be at least 21 and to provide a Social Security number, and Gov. Kathy Hochul has said the state is pursuing stronger age-verification, prevention, and treatment measures. “From day one, one of my highest priorities has been keeping kids and our most vulnerable safe in a rapidly changing digital world, and that includes risks posed by online gambling,” Hochul said. Even so, the panelists said kids still find ways in, sometimes using a parent’s information.
The exposure ramps up in college. Males ages 22 to 30 are the most likely to gamble, the panelists said, and 45.5 percent of college students reported gambling in the last year, legally or illegally, according to the New York Council on Problem Gambling. The most common activities were betting with friends, buying lottery tickets, sports betting, playing cards, and online betting.
The overlap with mental health is heavy. More than 90 percent of people with a gambling disorder also carry a mental health diagnosis, and the panelists said people with ADHD may be especially vulnerable because of impulsivity and reward-seeking. Weber cited the Connecticut Council Program’s finding that alcohol and drug use have been declining while gambling is rising, and that gambling raises the odds of using alcohol, tobacco, and vapes as well.
If a kid is showing signs, the panelists said, a mental health professional can do an evaluation. Their case was that awareness among parents, kids, and communities is how you catch casual betting before it becomes a serious addiction. The Rye Youth Council’s programming and contact information are at The Rye Record’s account of the panel.
Featured image: Bushwick Daily image
