In On The Action: The high stakes of youth gambling – 6abc Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — Sports betting has surged in recent years.
And critics say it has led to a public health crisis of gambling addiction.
They say, it largely affects young men but there are concerns that today's youth are also finding ways to wage bets.
Critics of the gambling industry said there are two factors fueling a surge in gambling addiction.
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.
"So, I started when I was 16," said Bryan Biehl who described his gambling problem.
Biehl said at the height of his addiction in his early twenties, he'd place online sports bets from wake-up to bedtime.
"Probably about $40,000 to $50,000 in debt with credit cards and everything," he said.
Biehl said he tried to stop but the gaming companies would blow up his phone with emails and text messages asking everything from he'd been to even offering financial incentives to deposit more money.
"Constantly reeling you in?" asked Chad Pradelli. "Constantly. It's non-stop," he replied.
Harry Levant is a former gambling addict who is now a nationally renowned gambling therapist and an advocate with the Public Health Advisory Institute.
"We are in the midst of a public health crisis," he told the Investigative Team.
Levant said to fuel is addiction he stole nearly two million dollars of client money while a trial lawyer in Philadelphia,
"Ended up homeless. Surrendered my law license. Waking into the district attorney's office and self-confessed to all my crimes."
Levant now treats Biehl and is calling for reform in the legalized gambling space.
"This is an epidemic both in college and in high schools," he said.
The legal age to bet is 21 in Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
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.
"You can deposit money within 2 seconds," said Penn State Abington student Nuke Beauplan.
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,
"It's two buttons. Like sometimes if feels like fake money."
Last week, the 20-year-old attended gambling problem screening day being held on his campus.
Gillian Russell is a co-author of the 2025 Pennsylvania Interactive Gaming Assessment.
She also led the screening day at Penn State Abington,
"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.," she added.
Josh Ercole with the Council on Compulsive Gambling of Pennsylvania which runs a state helpline said calls have increased in recent years,
"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."
Data shows that 2021 through 2025 intake calls increased by 40% with most callers being men seeking help.
None of the major online sports betting apps commented on this story but referred ABC News to the Sports Betting Alliance which represents them.
President Joe Maloney stressed online betting is for adults only and acknowledges betting can be problematic for some.
Maloney said these apps provide controls to limit wagering and issues,
"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."
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.
If you or someone you know is seeking help for gambling you can call 1-800-GAMBLER or 1-800-MY-RESET

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