A report from the Harris Poll<\/a>, released this past fall, also\u00a0found that a majority of those polled between the age of 13 to 28 consider online betting a legitimate way to make money.<\/p>\nAnd as online betting becomes\u00a0more mainstream, Morrison said\u00a0some young people who have difficulty making friends may gravitate toward gambling as a way to meet others.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s another way that they’re using it to be in a community,\u00a0to be connected,”\u00a0Morrison said.<\/p>\n
Outreach and education in schools<\/p>\n
Jessica Martin, interim director of the Center for Behavioral Health Promotion and Applied Research at University of Albany’s School of Education, said last spring the university conducted a health and well-being survey that polled more than 1,200\u00a0students on campus as part of a federally funded research initiative.<\/p>\n
The survey, she said, revealed a significant jump in gambling activity among students compared with the year prior.<\/p>\n
Martin\u00a0said 67.7% reported engaging “in some type of gambling behavior”\u00a0compared with a survey in fall 2024, when 47.16% reported they did.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Martin, a licensed psychologist, said\u00a0surveys also showed that on average, “about 26% of our students meet the criteria for moderate to high risk gambling.”<\/p>\n
The university is\u00a0collecting data on gambling from seven academic institutions, including Stony Brook University,\u00a0that have partnered with the state and the New York Council on Problem Gambling to screen students for gambling issues and provide other resources.<\/p>\n
At Stony Brook, students are discussing gambling as more than just an older person\u2019s problem, said Kerri Mahoney, director of the university’s Center for Prevention and Outreach. She said the university has held campus events that aim to address\u00a0the dark side of gambling.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe really talk to students about warning signs that we might be seeing, because it could be a mental health concern connected to problem gambling,\u201d Mahoney said.<\/p>\n
Some of the red flags include becoming more isolated from friends, owing people money and lying to cover up the issue.<\/p>\n
Problem gambling, which often comes with financial issues, also carries an increased risk of suicide, experts and studies have found.\u00a0It is also linked to depression.<\/p>\n
Similar to alcohol and drug addictions, health professionals said gambling disorders activate the brain’s dopamine-releasing reward system, leading to tolerance over time.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Young people\u00a0are more vulnerable to developing gambling disorders,\u00a0in part, because the prefrontal cortex of the brain, the area tasked with impulse control, planning and decision-making, does not fully develop until the mid-20s.<\/p>\n
“The reward pathways in that age group are in overdrive. …\u00a0This population has big emotions. They make quick, sometimes impulsive decisions. They’re chasing rewards, they’re also chasing\u00a0losses,” Martin said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Jessica](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768584969_368_image.jpeg\"\/)
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Jessica Martin, of the University of Albany, has been studying online gambling behaviors among young people. Credit: Jessica Martin<\/p>\n
Mary O’Meara, superintendent of Plainview-Old Bethpage schools,\u00a0said district officials have “grave concerns\u201d about teen online gambling.<\/p>\n
“The\u00a0school is proactively engaged in educating students. We have done a lot of community awareness about the impact of social media and cellphone use, and we bring it to the parents’ attention,\u201d O\u2019Meara said in a phone interview.<\/p>\n
A health education program for 12th graders now includes discussions on\u00a0gambling. Joseph Braico, the district’s director of physical education, health, athletics and recreation, said lessons include\u00a0arming students with knowledge about gambling addiction, including warning\u00a0signs.<\/p>\n
“Lessons are designed to prioritize prevention by promoting responsible decision-making and early recognition of risk behaviors,” Braico said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Calls for increased restrictions<\/p>\n
Some experts said that the gaming\u00a0companies require\u00a0more guardrails.<\/p>\n
Parent-Teacher Association Nassau region director Shari Beck said app makers and gaming companies need to be held accountable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are lobbying in Albany and also in D.C. to make sure there are restrictions to prevent underage minors from accessing these things, but it’s much harder to keep a kid out of an app than it is to prevent them walking into a casino,\u201d Beck said.<\/p>\n
Others took aim at the culture that normalizes the activity, from celebrities and sports analysts who promote it, to the gaming company’s aggressive marketing tactics.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Steve\u00a0Chassman, executive director of the Long Island Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, said people indiscriminately receive texts from gaming platforms on big game days.\u00a0“It’s not even like you have to go on these websites \u2014 these gambling houses, technological platforms, are outreaching to elicit gamblers.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brian O’Dwyer, chair of the state Gaming Commission, said in a statement,\u00a0\u201cThe commission will consider actions to prevent underage access, including the possibility of biometric requirements for account access and real consequences for those who share their legal accounts with underage individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n
The commission\u00a0will also continue working with the Office of Addiction Services and Supports \u201cto implement the latest technology into the online sports wagering process to best position access to help for those who need it,” he said.<\/p>\n
The Responsible Online Gaming Association, which represents\u00a0many of the industry’s major\u00a0operators, did not return calls for comment. A review of two\u00a0major gaming websites allowed in the state showed that users are required\u00a0to provide a\u00a0Social Security number or driver’s license to set up an account.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Alex De Marco, founder of GamFin, which partners with New York and other states\u00a0to provide financial counseling to people dealing with gambling issues,\u00a0said gaming platforms encourage a habit that promises to reap big gains that are unlikely to materialize.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOverall, the odds are against you, and eventually, it turns into a losing proposition overall. And that\u00a0is where things go off the rails,\u201d De Marco said.<\/p>\n
Long Islanders struggling with gambling addiction can contact\u00a0the following resources:<\/p>\n
New York State\u2019s\u00a0HOPEline\u00a0at 877-8- HOPENY (877-846-7369) or text HOPENY (467369) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2CALL-GA (855-222-5542).![\"Lorena](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768584969_332_image.jpeg\"\/)
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Lorena Mongelli has been reporting for Newsday since 2021. Prior to that, she covered breaking news at the New York Post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Nassau native\u00a0was not yet of legal drinking age when\u00a0online sports betting caused him\u00a0to burn through paychecks and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":411293,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[60],"tags":[526,97,259,260,3475,99,5478],"class_list":["post-411292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-education","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth","tag-nassau","tag-sports","tag-suffolk"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=411292"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/411292\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/411293"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=411292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=411292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=411292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1768584968_268_image.jpeg\"\/)
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