Coffeezilla "Exposes" U.S. Gambling Epidemic to millions of viewers

“Coffeezilla,” whose real name is Stephen Findeisen, has become one of the most recognizable journalists on YouTube. His channel has 4.3 million subscribers and is dedicated to uncovering scams and predatory financial practices that target everyday people. His work blends sharp humor with rigorous investigative reporting, moving from critiques of shady “finance gurus” and cryptocurrency to now “Exposing the Gambling Epidemic.”

He released the video on October 30, 2025, and it has since garnered nearly 5 million views in less than a week. His half-hour deep dive into the current gambling landscape in the U.S. serves as a warning that it is no longer limited to casinos or sportsbooks. Instead, as Coffeezilla details, it has become nearly inescapable in our everyday lives, embedded into games, apps and financial platforms that millions of Americans use daily.

His central question: Is it a good thing that every spare moment of our lives can become a game of chance?

Coffeezilla’s answer: a definitive no, and the evidence he presents shows why.

Products of all kinds now featuring components of gambling 

Coffeezilla lays out three forces behind gambling’s explosion into the mainstream:

Video games with gambling mechanics

Loot boxes, or random-reward mechanics, now dominate some of the world’s largest video games, including Roblox, one of the most popular platforms for young gamers. These products fuel risk-taking behaviors long before adulthood, and the video gaming companies are reaping profits. One game creator shared with Coffeezilla that they made $2 million a year in profit while he was there from these gambling-like designs. 

Financial apps offering prediction markets, including on sports

Robinhood, once solely a stock-trading app, now directly integrates gambling-like offerings, including “sports event contracts” through a partnership with Kalshi that involve risking money to predict the outcomes of sporting events. 

Meme coin trading platforms like Pump.fun rake in profits from fees. The platform encourages high-volatility speculation that mirrors slots-like risk cycles. While traders farm for clicks and views, an overwhelming majority of its users have failed to secure any notable profits. 

New gambling platforms target young audiences

Prediction market platforms like Polymarket and Kalshi allow 18-year-olds to risk money on predictions around sports, politics, world events, even public figures’ clothing choices.

Cheddr has announced itself as “the TikTok of sports betting,” blending DraftKings, TikTok and Tindr in one. Cheddr plans to capitalize on sweepstakes loopholes and secondary virtual currencies to simulate bets that can be exchanged for real money

Yotta began as a “no-lose lottery” to gamify saving but shifted to a sweepstakes casino model. And that’s just one more example of how the line between gambling and ordinary financial decision-making has blurred beyond recognition.

Betting is no longer a separate leisure activity. It is built directly into everyday life.

Impacts of the increased accessibility of gambling

Sports betting surged after the 2018 repeal of the federal prohibition. Today, half of the top 10 sports apps in the U.S. App Store are sportsbooks, including the #1 spot, above the ESPN and NFL apps.

Coffeezilla shares a series of highlights from studies that reveal:

• 22% of Americans now have online sports betting accounts
  
  

• Nearly half of men aged 25-35 have an online sports betting account
  
  

• Bankruptcy rates have risen 10% nationwide since legalization
  
  

• Addicted bettors can face devastating consequences:
  
  

  • Escalating debts
    
    

  • Broken relationships
    
    

  • Job instability
    
    

  • Criminal legal issues

Coffeezilla calls out hypocritical influencers pushing gambling to followers

The video dedicates significant attention to stars who hypocritically profit from their promotion of gambling products, while having publicly acknowledged the significant risks and harms.

Twitch streamer Nadeshot

The popular Twitch streamer and YouTuber partnered with Roobet, an offshore crypto casino.
He openly told his subscribers following the partnership that they should not gamble because they will lose. He has admitted he knows gambling can harm certain members of his audience and that he personally will lose money gambling.

He only accepted the sponsorship because it was the most lucrative deal of his career. His honesty, Coffeezilla argues, reflects a troubling industry reality: If the money is big enough, moral responsibility can be negotiable.

Kevin Hart

Hart has harped on the need for financial literacy within our community, upholding the idea that better money knowledge, especially knowledge and calculated stock market investment, can better protect individuals and their families. However, he also is a public face of DraftKings, a sportsbook that profits heavily from customers not fully understanding the odds, the financial consequences of wagering and the instant risk-reward feedback loop. 

Joe Rogan

Rogan has long condemned manipulative pharmaceutical marketing. Yet in September alone, he ran 11 DraftKings ads across 14 episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience.

On the same platform where Rogan warns about addiction, he also markets products many experts consider equally addictive. Whether intentional or not, such celebrity-backed marketing normalizes gambling for millions.

Gambling Addiction in America: Stats & Resources

New national data reveals a growing crisis:

-28% of U.S. adults gamble online every day

-24.9% of sports bettors have missed bill payments due to wagering

-States that legalize online betting see:

>25-30% increases in bankruptcy filings within four years
>Major increases in helpline calls, including a 973% spike in Virginia

-Young men and college athletes are particularly vulnerable:

>52% of male NCAA student-athletes gambled last year
>Fewer than 10% know where to seek help

Gambling disorder carries one of the highest suicide risk rates among behavioral addictions, with upwards of 17% of individuals struggling with grambling problems also experiencing suicidal thoughts. Behind every number is a person who never imagined gambling would take over their life.

Coffeezilla ends his report by calling for legislative change and basic advertising rules.

In the meantime, it’s critical to be aware of the specialized resources and support options available if gambling becomes a problem for you or someone you know. Birches Health works to eliminate the traditional barriers to gambling-specific care by providing confidential, insurance-covered virtual treatment tailored to the realities of modern life.

If you or someone you care about may be struggling with gambling, help is available and recovery is possible:

Book an appointment with Birches Health
Call 833-483-3838
Email help@bircheshealth.com