Sports betting ads are drawing teens into a dangerous financial trap

Today, gambling advertisements have exploded onto the stage of social media and TV.  Pop ups, reels, and commercials attempting to draw people into online gambling, often using a flashy style that is just as appealing to teens as adults. This should be a concern for anyone who understands that what might seem simple and harmless, can quickly turn into an uncontrollable compulsion. 

The legalization of single game betting has opened the door to a swift rise in online gambling. On August 7, 2021, the Canadian government amended the Canadian Criminal Code through Bill C-218, which allowed provinces and territories to manage and regulate single game gambling. From that day moving forward, online gambling has surged for companies such as Stake, Betmgm, Bet365, and many more.  

Their free apps make it easier for anyone to participate. And if the user is willing to enter a fake age into the app, there is no further age-verification process to start using the app. Users can deposit money and make bets. They are only required to use an ID if and when they try to withdraw, according to teen users of the apps who spoke to 8forty for this article. 

For many teenagers, endless scrolling through social media or even watching live TV can leave them vulnerable, making them look for a dopamine rush that betting promotions offer. For teens whose minds are still learning and developing habits that can help them self-regulate, it becomes more challenging to control the want or need to gamble. Dr. Shawn Kelly, an adolescent addiction specialist stated that “These ads are not directed at the nine-year-olds sitting with me, but they are picking up on it.” Dr. Kelly told CBC that he sees sports gambling ads as an upcoming issue, explaining how the typical case he sees are where “a 13- or 14-year-old boy who has borrowed dad’s credit card, or mom’s credit card, engaged in some online wagering and lost a significant amount of money.”  

Even if they aren’t on their phones, ads across TV are near impossible to avoid, especially within sports broadcast networks.  

One Burnaby teen who prefers to stay anonymous, said, “I love watching TV, but when every second ad is begging me to download their app, it’s a bit annoying.” He told 8forty that “Even though the ads may not be targeted at children or teenagers, they still pick up on it, and when they watch something that’s trying to grab their attention, they’re going to gravitate toward it.”  

Sports betting ads are modeled to be exciting, flashy, and most importantly attention grabbing, which only makes them more effective on youth. The promises of quick and easy winnings can blindly lead users into a deep rabbit hole of impulsive habits. 

Gambling targets the brain’s dopamine reward system, where immediate bursts of excitement rush to the gambler for each click, scroll, or tap. Just like social media, scrolling or playing games has a similar impact, betting gives quick responses that get the user’s hopes high, only to be let down even faster. A vicious cycle that keeps bringing the user back. For teenagers this endless loop of anticipation and disappointment can affect their developing brains because of the inability to regulate the impulse of betting despite the obvious risks. 

As the cycle continues, the highs become even more of a challenge to reach while the lows steep lower. Through time, the emotional rollercoaster can force the brain to crave betting, which is followed by an aftermath of withdrawal, shame, and stress of lost money. For teenagers specifically, what starts as harmless curiosity, quickly turns into damaging habits that only get harder to break as time passes. 

Dr. Nigel Turner, a scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, warned that people who start gambling before nineteen “establish a habit of gambling that can echo throughout your life and get you into serious financial problems.” 

As problems begin to stack, Canada must find a way to implement regulations around advertising that may impact youth. Though the doors have been opened for single game betting, there is a necessity for regulations on how frequent a pop up or short form video may show up through major mass media programs.  

The Canadian government could force platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram to use their age verification system, to minimize the amount of gambling promotions for people under the age of nineteen. However, filtering ads is only the first step, companies should be required to warn users about gambling content before they receive it, where the warning could show the risks that come with the upcoming video. For most platforms, their algorithms would be trained to present less content and advertisements for those who are under the legal age to gamble. 

Alberta is proposing the iGaming Alberta Act which would allow mainstream online betting companies such as Bet365 to be officially licensed and legal to operate within the province. Through this act, the Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (ALGC) would oversee regulations on how these betting franchises operate, ensuring minors are not participating. This creates a safe and controlled system that would reduce mental health risks by enforcing consumer protection, such as spending limits and support services. 

A student at local secondary school who I will call Kyrie Carell, commented “if there’s no type of regulations that can limit how much people at any age can see it, then there is a higher chance of teenagers losing control and not regulating themselves.” Carell continued to say, “I’m close with a few people that are so emotionally invested in it that has cost them tons money.” 

Through Carell, I spoke with “Calum,” a local teenager who prefers to stay anonymous that started online gambling about a year ago. “It first started as something that gave me lots of excitement,” Calum said, “When you invest ten bucks through a parlay and get fifty dollars back, you feel like a genius.” However, Calum later described a two-week slide where he lost nearly a thousand dollars, which was most of the money he earned from a summer job. 

If online gambling continues to take over major media platforms, the risk of normalizing online or any sort of gambling as casual entertainment will continue to bring issues for lots of youth. For example, in the 2025 Stanley Cup finals, the University of Bristol held a study that found an average of 3.5 marketing messages from gambling companies every minute. Without restrictions, teenagers will be swarmed with phony promises of quick and easy ways to get money, which creates a false illusion of harmless gambling.  

Major gambling companies have hijacked the advertising business, where the cost will not only be losing money but also risking self-esteem and mental health. Without balance or something to intervene with teenagers being surrounded by influential ads, the house will always end up winning.  

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