To Sam Demello’s friends, the 26-year-old at the time seemed to have everything together. Six-figure technical pay, envious training plans, happy relationships. However, he was surrounded by self-loathing as he crossed the finish line of the 2013 Nixan Francisco Marathon.
His friends, family and girlfriends didn’t know he was struggling with a crippling sports betting addiction. He fell into addiction just weeks after being introduced to sports gambling, but he didn’t realize it until years later.
“All my friends will come to me and say, ‘Congratulations, you’re crushing it. We’re so proud of you,'” DeMelo says. “I just feel this dissonance because I felt so deceptive.”
DeMelo, now 38 years old and recovering, hopes he saw the warning signal faster.
As legalized sports betting grows across the nation, more and more young men are falling into gambling addiction without realizing the signs. With the explosion of mobile betting platforms and lack of age resources, many view it as a form of betting and investing until it’s too late.
Addiction experts say the issue is as serious as substance abuse and is widely misunderstood. And it could be the next public health crisis for young people.
“In the past seven years, gambling and sports betting has not only normalized, but is embedded in everything that we do in American culture,” says Timothy Pon (teenager), co-director of the UCLA Gambling Research Program, who believes sports entertainment is gambling. ”
How the brain streamlines addiction
Addiction occurs when a substance or behavior causes the center of the brain’s reward. That rush of activity is like hitting a parlay, sending the brain a rapid release of joy-inducing chemical dopamine. Over time, this recurring behavior can overwhelm the brain’s reward pathways and forever change how we handle impulsive control, joy and motivation.
“When you use a substance, you actually inject something, inhal it, or somehow put it in your body, but in a problematic gambling, it’s all about what you do,” says Heather Eschleman, Prevention Manager at Excellence in Maryland.
That distinction led to an increase in stigma.
“Gambling addiction is even more stigmatized than substance use disorders,” says Kate Hubble of the National Council on Issues Gambling. “Many people mistakenly assume it is a moral failure and a lack of self-control. Chemically, it’s exactly like other types of addiction.”
According to Fong, it is an important factor that increases the risk of starting gambling at a younger age and developing gambling addiction more frequently. Young adults have a major deficit in their ability to cope with highs and low gambling values. Teenagers’ executive functions, abstract thinking and decision-making skills continue to develop until they are 25 years old.
“The (teenager’s) brain has no impulse control. They don’t have the ability to quickly recover from loss,” says Fon. “I want money, I want excitement, I want what my friends have. I want to prove it’s very cool for my friends.”
Young men often consider gambling a hobby
During his addiction, DeMelo’s life revolved around a planned sports game. He gambled over the phone while on the elevator from a $150 treatment session he had booked. He checked his bets before he put on clothes after the stripping flotation tank session he purchased to relax his mind. And when he attended Burning Man as an escape, the last thing he did before he lost cell service was to see if his bet won.
Still, DeMelo didn’t realize he had an addiction.
He thought his gambling addiction was for those who spend the last five dollars on horse trucks, not him. He never charged his credit card that he said he didn’t repay and he didn’t borrow money from anyone.
“It made me addicted for probably seven years,” DeMelo says.
Like DeMelo, many young men see gambling as a way to interact with their hobby or favorite sports team. After the 2018 Supreme Court Expert and Amateur Sports Protection Act (PASPA), the legalization boom continued with restrictions on state betting. Today, sports betting is legal in 39 states and the District of Columbia.
Sportsbook now has access to young adult pockets all day, every day. The multi-million dollar ad blitz quickly followed legalization, reaching millions of American teens watching sports. There is no federal law inherent in sports betting ads, but the field is not regulated compared to legislation restricting traditional gambling ads.
Young adults over the age of 18 can gamble in units of $5 or $10. Additionally, online sportsbook apps such as DraftKings and Fanduel offer incentives that make new customers seem riskless.
“I see a lot of young people coming, being exposed to gambling and having the means to gamble a little, and that activates addiction,” says Fong.
Huble says part of the problem is that young people don’t recognize activities like raffles, bingo and fantasy sports as gambling. While 92% of these ages 65 and over think they are betting on sports outcomes, this figure drops to 50% when looking at ages 18-24, according to the National Council on the 2021 ngage Survey on Gambling.
DeMelo tried more than 50 times to stop the cold turkey, but he made it a few days before it reappeared. He lived with his fiance for a year without her realising. However, he eventually developed alcohol and drug problems as a result of his gambling addiction – what gambling experts say is common.
“It’s the same story as other addictive disorders, running alongside mental health,” says Fong. “Chicken leads to eggs, and eggs lead to chicken.”
“I didn’t think I was addicted.”
When DeMelo lost control of gambling, he punished himself in other ways – refusing to buy food, track calories on manicurs, or push himself against fatigue in the gym. Over the decade when addiction ruled his life, he estimates he lost between $500,000 and $1 million.
“We talk about gambling being a hidden addiction, because it’s really easy to hide from others, but it’s also very easy to hide from yourself,” DeMelo says. “I didn’t think I was addicted.”
When Demello tried traditional methods of treating addiction, he felt isolated. When he began to participate in therapy, his therapist’s lunges about his childhood trauma did not resonate – he was keenly aware of his privileges, growing up in Auckland in the 90s. He thought he would try an anonymous meeting of gamblers. However, by 30 years he was the youngest person in the room and gave up six months later.
“I came out of my initial therapy appointment and said, ‘Yeah, this isn’t for me. This is for people with real problems,'” DeMelo says.
To correct that understanding, experts like Fong and Eshleman say that responsible gambling education needs to be much younger.
What parents and young people need to know about sports betting addiction
Gambling prevention materials have not kept up to the industry boom and receive less support compared to mandatory education regarding cannabis, tobacco and alcohol use. Unlike other mental health and addiction services, there is no federal agency that oversees the gambling in question. As a result, gambling prevention is left to the state.
“If you look at the number of young people who jump into this behavior, they really jump into it because there’s little training or education. There’s no owner’s manual, right? No teachers show how to gamble responsibly,” says Fong.
As for recovery resources, Demello says that gambling harm reduction advocates need to show up for young people in digital environments where the stigma is a barrier to having to pick up a phone and call someone.
He founded Evive, a gambling-specific digital therapy app, to bridge the gap between age and technology. Health officials in Oregon, Oklahoma, Massachusetts, Louisiana, Virginia and Nevada are based in Boston.
In the meantime, Fong and Demello say that conversations about sports betting could start at home.
“Talking to children about gender, drugs and gambling needs to be part of the American zeitgeist,” DeMelo says.
Young adults struggling with responsible gambling can text nationwide problem gambling helplines for 24 hours at 800 gambling and find anonymous meetings of gamblers.
Rachel Hale’s role in covering youth mental health at USA Today is supported by a partnership with Pivotal Ventures and Journalism Funding Partners. Funders do not provide editor input. Contact her at rhale@usatoday.com and @rachelleighhale.
