Birches Health highlighted in Her Campus on Rise of Women Gambling

Birches Health is honored to be featured in a new Her Campus article, "Gen Z Women Are Online Gambling, & Placing Their Bets On Pop Culture Moments. The piece examines a trend that's been gaining momentum across college campuses and social media: young women who have never placed a traditional sports bet are increasingly wagering on pop culture moments — from reality TV outcomes on shows like Big Brother and Love Island to how many streams a Taylor Swift album will rack up on Spotify.

The article follows several young women, identified by pseudonyms, who describe how they got pulled into betting through social media ads promising an easy way to "win big" on the entertainment they already follow closely. One 21-year-old source, Lucy, explains that seeing ads for betting on reality TV felt "interesting" and like "a fast way to make some extra money" as a self-described broke college student. Another source, Jane, a 23-year-old University of Pittsburgh alum, describes chasing the high of an early scratch-off win into more sophisticated betting and prediction markets, eventually wagering on pop culture outcomes like awards-season casting news.

The article also cites a 2024 Deakin University study showing that the number of female gamblers has been steadily climbing — with women aged 16 to 34 gambling more frequently and across more platforms than older age groups.

Birches Health founder and CEO Elliott Rapaport spoke with Her Campus about the marketing tactics that draw young people, and increasingly young women, into betting for the first time. As the article notes, Birches Health is the largest national provider of digital addiction treatment, giving Elliott a front-row view of how these habits take hold.

Rapaport told Her Campus that the social nature of gambling today can make it feel like just another way of hanging out: "Betting can happen in group chats, during games, through fantasy sports, or as part of hanging out with friends. That can make it feel less like gambling and more like a normal way to participate."

Importantly, Rapaport also noted, "Not everyone who bets will develop a problem, but it does mean we need more education, more safeguards, and easier access to support," he said. "People should know that if gambling is creating stress, affecting school or relationships, or starting to feel hard to control, that is already a good enough reason to reach out for help."

We're grateful to Her Campus for including Birches Health's perspective in this important conversation about how gambling is showing up in new forms, and reaching new audiences, in the lives of young women. As gambling marketing continues to evolve alongside pop culture and social media, Birches Health remains committed to helping people understand the signs of problematic gambling and to providing accessible, evidence-based treatment for those who need it.

Read the full article on Her Campus here.