The Secret Spread: Sports Betting and the New Addiction No One Is Talking About – Part II

Over the past several weeks, the communal conversation around sports betting has intensified, reflecting both concern and broader recognition of the issue. Educators, parents, clinicians, and community members have begun speaking more openly about this issue. Some have shared that the initial article reflected concerns they had already been observing. This highlights a crucial point: this is not a narrow issue affecting only a small group of teens, but a broader cultural challenge that has been developing quietly for years and now demands sustained attention.

What has become clearer through these conversations is not only how widespread the behavior is, but also how deeply it is woven into the structure of everyday digital life. Recognizing this complexity should not lead to despair—rather, it leads to a clearer understanding of what we are facing. The forces involved are significant, yet they are not beyond our collective ability to shape, provided we keep this issue at the forefront of our communal awareness.

Meaningful communal change rarely happens quickly. More often, it begins with a conversation that takes time to settle and ideas that require space before communities consider substantive shifts. We have seen this pattern with school phone policies, where quiet concerns circulated for years until schools and parents began exploring coordinated approaches. Sports betting may follow a similar path: keeping the conversation active allows understanding to develop, and solutions, in turn, reinforce ongoing reflection.

With that framing, this piece turns to what has emerged most clearly: the layers beneath the problem and several areas where communities can begin working constructively. What we are seeing is not simply gambling. Rather, it is a layered form of digital dependency shaped by four overlapping forces: the gambling activity itself, the reinforcement loops built into the apps, the central role of smartphones in daily life, and the social dynamics amplified through chats and online platforms. Each element strengthens the others, creating behavior patterns different from those experienced by previous generations. This is amplified by the fact that sports betting today is woven directly into the broader sports culture. Whether watching a game on television, following scores online, or using mainstream apps like ESPN, people are repeatedly confronted with ads, prompts, and invitations to bet, making gambling feel like a natural extension of the sports experience.

The betting apps themselves are designed for immediacy. A wager takes seconds, and an outcome triggers another opportunity. The loop is fast and constant, unfolding on the same device teens use for socializing, schoolwork, entertainment, and communication. They do not need to seek out gambling. It arrives packaged alongside everything else.

This complexity matters because it influences how we respond. This is not merely an issue of willpower or values. The architecture surrounding the behavior has changed. A separate article will explore addiction itself, how these behaviors take root, why signs may be subtle, and which assumptions can hinder effective responses. For now, the focus is on practical steps communities can begin taking.

1. Keep the Conversation Open

Gambling hides easily. It leaves no visible traces and often remains unnoticed until underlying harm has already emerged. When communities create space for steady, age-appropriate discussion—in shuls, classrooms, and homes—they create room for awareness, questions, and guidance.

This does not require dramatic presentations. It requires consistency and a willingness to name what is happening. When the topic is spoken about openly, students are more likely to ask questions, parents are more likely to notice early patterns, and schools are better positioned to set expectations. Silence makes concealment easier.

2. Equip Parents With the Information They Are Missing

Many parents have only a partial understanding of how sports betting functions today. They may recognize the names of popular platforms but know little about how quickly bets can be placed, how the apps are designed to sustain engagement, or how digital money transfers can obscure patterns. Parents are not indifferent. They often lack information. Effective education provides a clearer picture of how the systems work, what early indicators look like, and how to initiate grounded, respectful conversations at home.

In practice, that may mean approaching a concerning incident not with immediate alarm but with curiosity: “Help me understand how this worked for you, what you were thinking, how you placed the bet, what it felt like.” This approach opens the door to honest conversation and allows parents to discern whether they are seeing a one-time decision or the beginning of a pattern.

3. Ensure Leadership Is Adequately Informed

People in leadership positions—rabbis, teachers, mechanchim, coaches, youth directors, and others who interact regularly with adolescents—need a basic working understanding of sports betting and the risks it poses. They do not need expertise in addiction treatment, but they do need enough familiarity to recognize early signs, respond appropriately, and avoid unintentionally minimizing behaviors that may signal deeper concerns. Awareness in this area has improved over the years. I can personally speak to the way RIETS has emphasized training and continuing education on these issues, and there are additional organizations and communal initiatives that have played meaningful roles in raising awareness as well. Still, gaps remain. Strengthening this baseline knowledge allows leaders to guide families more effectively and increases the likelihood that concerning patterns will be identified early, when they are most responsive to intervention.

4. Set Clear Institutional Boundaries

Many high schools (and some middle schools) have begun addressing sports betting in thoughtful ways and deserve credit for doing so. Still, isolated assemblies or single presentations cannot counter the speed and scale of the surrounding culture. Schools and camps may benefit from clearer, more coordinated boundaries. This does not require rigid uniformity, but rather greater alignment: schools within the same community communicating about policies, middle schools and high schools ensuring younger students hear consistent expectations, and administrators checking in periodically to share what they are seeing.

Activities that mirror gambling—fantasy leagues, brackets, prediction contests—may seem harmless, but they rehearse the impulses that underlie actual betting. When schools, especially middle schools, establish clear expectations and consistnetly maintain them, the message becomes stronger than any individual program.

5. Build Quiet Pathways for Support

Families who reached out in recent weeks described a common pattern: by the time a concern becomes visible, it is often advanced. With no physical signs and few obvious markers, gambling can remain hidden for long periods. Communities benefit from confidential and accessible support. Rabbanim, clinicians, and organizations such as Amudim, Relief, and CCSA play important roles. Yet families may not always know where to turn or may hesitate to seek help until the situation has escalated.

When these resources are introduced gradually—through routine parent meetings, quiet conversations with rabbanim, or visible but non‑stigmatizing messaging—families are more likely to reach out early, when interventions can be most effective.

6. Strengthen Financial and Digital Responsibility

For many teens, gambling often begins with unmonitored money. Small digital transfers accumulate unnoticed. Ten dollars here or there may seem insignificant until the amounts start to matter. Teaching young people to understand digital payment systems, track spending, and communicate openly about finances strengthens their sense of responsibility and integrity. This approach also creates natural points at which adults can observe emerging patterns.

7. Re‑Center Torah Values

Gambling encourages a mindset that separates reward from effort and impulse from intention. It works against values that ground a life of avodah—discipline, patience, honesty, and the dignity of earned accomplishment. When these values are woven into regular conversations—not as lectures but as part of the shared language of home and school—they help counter the cultural pressures that make gambling appealing.

And so, we will not eliminate sports betting from the world our children currently inhabit. Technology will continue to evolve, and sports culture will continue to expand, but we can influence the environment in meaningful ways.

At present, our goal need not be to solve the problem outright, but rather to shift the landscape. Greater awareness, clearer boundaries, earlier intervention, and stronger education can meaningfully alter the trajectory of many young people who might otherwise drift into patterns harder to reverse.

That work begins with ensuring the conversation does not fade. Sustained awareness allows ideas to mature and solutions to develop. In the coming weeks, the final part of this series will examine addiction more directly, exploring how these behaviors take root and how we can respond with clarity, compassion, and realism moving forward.