WHERE I STAND: Sports Betting - October 8, 2026

As you'd probably guess, judgment and betting don't always go hand in hand, especially with this population.

High rates of gambling disorders, especially with teens and guys in their early 20s, with addiction clocking in as high as 7%, that is raising alarms among experts.

Since legalized sports betting has been enacted in almost every state, gambling disorders for young men has skyrocketed by 60%.

Not surprisingly, these underdeveloped minds struggle with both impulse control and considering consequences.

More than half of these bettors admit to chasing a lot of money by making even larger wagers to try and win their losses back.

Unsurprisingly, this almost never works, and bankruptcies are up 25 to 30% as a result, and that's overall.

But even they're higher among young men in their 20s.

The lasting impact on their credit rating, shrinking credit limits, and overwhelming debt will follow them wherever they go.

What's as alarming as the cascading impacts of this societal phenomenon is the motivations behind it.

First off, if you think there's any stigma to laying money on games like there was when we were kids, you couldn't be more wrong.

At this point, this bizarrely qualifies for many as a social activity.

But even more head-scratching is that more than a quarter of Gen Z who actually are smart enough to invest some of their money, they actually consider sports betting as part of their long-term financial strategy.

You heard me right.

Now, there are plenty of black hats to go around for this crisis.

The sports betting platforms not only target young bettors, but they market the simplicity and ubiquity of just downloading the app with a teaser of free money for those to get started.

Now, you don't need to have to find a bookie anymore, or head down to Atlantic City, or go into a dingy OTB.

You can simply look at your phone 24/7 and be inundated with things to lose your money on.

The pro leagues, they've been more than happy to take the money, and the betting lines are openly discussed on air as if they were delivering just another old stat.

The idea that legislatures chose to legitimize and legalize this lunacy, even in many states for kids as young as 18, now that's offensive.

I don't know what the solution here is.

I won't pretend it'll be easy since the genie is completely out of the bottle.

But I know that a tsunami of financial chaos is coming down the pike, and the adults at these platforms, these leagues, and these legislatures, who all knew better, they will have some answering to do.