PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Sports betting has surged in recent years and critics say it has led to a public health crisis of gambling addiction.<\/p>\n
They say it largely affects young men, but there are concerns that today’s youth are also finding ways to wage bets.<\/p>\n
Critics of the gambling industry said there are two factors fueling a surge in gambling addiction.<\/p>\n
First is easy access to online sports betting on phones and the other is the proliferation of in-game betting, which is a form of live betting while a game is underway.<\/p>\n
“So, I started when I was 16,” said Bryan Biehl who described his gambling problem.<\/p>\n
Biehl said at the height of his addiction in his early twenties, he’d place online sports bets from wake-up to bedtime.<\/p>\n
“Probably about $40,000 to $50,000 in debt with credit cards and everything,” he said.<\/p>\n
Biehl said he tried to stop, but the gaming companies would blow up his phone with emails and text messages, even offering financial incentives to deposit more money.<\/p>\n
“Constantly reeling you in?” asked Chad Pradelli. “Constantly. It’s non-stop,” he replied.<\/p>\n
Harry Levant<\/a> is a former gambling addict who is now a nationally renowned gambling therapist and an advocate with the Public Health Advisory Institute.<\/a><\/p>\n “We are in the midst of a public health crisis,” he told the Investigative Team.<\/p>\n Levant said to fuel is addiction, he stole nearly $2 million dollars of client money while he was a trial lawyer in Philadelphia,<\/p>\n “Ended up homeless. Surrendered my law license. Waking into the district attorney’s office and self-confessed to all my crimes,” he said.<\/p>\n Levant now treats Biehl and is calling for reform in the legalized gambling space.<\/p>\n “This is an epidemic both in college and in high schools,” he said.<\/p>\n The legal age to bet is 21 in Pennsylvania <\/a>and New Jersey.<\/a><\/p>\n But Levant said young people find a way, often betting on a parents account or older sibling, or through relatives and friends who are of age.<\/p>\n “You can deposit money within two seconds,” said Penn State Abington<\/a> student Nuke Beauplan.<\/p>\n Beauplan began betting in high school through a cousin’s account, and said he soon experienced anxiety and stress from losing bets with his limited income.<\/p>\n “It’s two buttons. Like, sometimes, if feels like fake money,” he said.<\/p>\n Last week, the 20-year-old attended a “Gambling Problem Screening Day” event being held on his campus.<\/p>\n Gillian Russell is a co-author of the 2025 Pennsylvania Interactive Gaming Assessment.<\/a><\/p>\n She also led the screening day at Penn State Abington.<\/p>\n “A lot what we’re seeing in this space is how they gamble and what they gamble on is tending to change a little,” she said. “They engage in different types of gambling that we maybe don’t see as gambling at surface level. So, gambling within video games, skins betting, loot boxes.”<\/p>\n Josh Ercole with the Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania<\/a>, which runs a state helpline, said calls have increased in recent years.<\/p>\n “So, the highest call volume now is typically within like the 25-34 range,” said Ercole. “But the fastest growth that we’ve seen and highest exponential growth is with that 18-24 range.”<\/p>\n Data shows that from 2021 through 2025, intake calls increased by 40%, with most callers being men seeking help.<\/p>\n None of the major online sports betting apps commented on this story, but referred ABC News to the Sports Betting Alliance, <\/a>which represents them.<\/p>\n President Joe Maloney stressed online betting is for adults only and acknowledges betting can be problematic for some. He said these apps provide controls to limit wagering and issues.<\/p>\n “These are one-click resources within these online legal and regulated app ecosystems that allow for wager limits, deposit limit, time on app limits, number of wager limits in a given 24-hour period,” he said.<\/p>\n Levant said those controls don’t go far enough, and continues to call for more regulation like banning credit card deposits, requiring affordability checks, and an end to in-game betting.<\/p>\n