Your Son is Betting on Sports: What You Can Do and Say
Published:
Oct 22, 2024
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11:44 a.m.
ET
Sports betting has been on the rise in recent years, with Americans betting almost $3 billion dollars during March Madness alone in 2024. Gambling has become a hobby for people of all ages, but particularly college-aged men. Sports betting has even turned into a group activity, with entire fraternity houses participating in bets together.
This trend has the potential to turn into a dangerous one if left unchecked by the adults or support systems in these young men's lives. If you are concerned about your son’s sports betting habits, there are tactics you can use to have an honest conversation about the risks of gambling and how to get help.
What to do if you know your son is sports betting
Have a conversation
If you are concerned about your son’s betting, the first thing you can do is start a conversation with them. It is important to ask them how often they are betting and how much they typically spend while betting. Asking these questions can help gauge the severity of their betting and the risk of developing a gambling addiction. Depending on your relationship with your son, it can be smart to approach the discussion with a casual, non-judgmental tone. That may increase the likelihood of them being honest and transparent about their sports betting behaviors.
Finding out how they are betting is also important. If they are using an offshore sportsbook or modern-day bookie, there are increased dangers and risks from both a consumer protection and legal perspective.
Additionally, it’s important to know what other kinds of gambling they may be participating in, such as online casino table games or slots. These gaming forms can be even more dangerous than sports betting, as wagers are decided in a matter of seconds, so people can lose a lot of money in just a matter of minutes.
In the same conversation or a subsequent one, you can also discuss the risks of developing a gambling addiction and what signs they can look out for that may indicate their betting (or the gambling behaviors of someone they know) may be leaning towards compulsive rather than recreational.
Assess their betting behaviors
It can be hard to determine if your son’s betting behavior is problematic or not. They may also not know if what they are doing is harmful, as betting behavior has become so ingrained into today’s sports world and college campus life. To gain a better idea of their gambling habits, you can encourage your son to take a free, quick gambling self-assessment test to see if they are betting responsibly or may be at risk of developing a gambling problem.
Share educational resources with them
While you can have a conversation about the risks of gambling addiction and the rising rates of problem gambling among young men, sharing educational resources with your son can help them learn more about gambling addiction themselves. There are resources that give tips on responsible betting, how to identify the signs of gambling addiction and what help is available if their gambling becomes a problem.
Here are some free resources from Birches Health that you can share with your son:
Make sure you are not funding their sports betting and gambling habits
You cannot always control what your son does with their money, but you can help reduce the likelihood that they participate in gambling by having visibility into their finances. Limiting the amount of money they have access to, such as a set allowance or using a shared account can naturally help reduce the potential for betting.
It can also be helpful to have visibility into their spending habits by looking at their transactions and seeing what funds they are using to participate in betting. Beware that transactions on digital payment platforms like Venmo, CashApp and Zelle are often used by modern bookies to facilitate paying gambling debts and winnings. So even if the description is “dinner,” for example, it’s unlikely that a $300 payment to a fellow college student is actually for one meal.
Make them aware of resources in case gambling becomes a problem
While you can’t always know what your child is doing, you can help provide them with resources so they can be aware of what problem gambling looks like and when it may be time for them to get help. It is important to let your son know that there is specialized support available to them if their or a friend’s gambling becomes an issue.
They can get started with Birches Health through any of the following options:
They can also contact Birches directly right away by calling 833-483-3838 or emailing hello@bircheshealth.com.
Warning signs that your son could have a gambling problem
There are common signs you can look for that may indicate your son could have a gambling problem. The most common sign is that your son is unable to control their gambling habits and cannot stop gambling. Other signs of gambling addiction can include:
Inability to stop gambling even if they want to
Betting larger amounts of money to get the same “high”
Chasing loses by betting more in hopes of winning back what was lost
Betting takes priority over other responsibilities
Frequent mood swings or changes in behavior
Stealing money in order to gamble
Ignoring personal hygiene to bet
Changes in eating or sleep habits
Losing interest in other activities in favor of betting
Does your son need an intervention?
If you feel your son’s gambling habits have become out of control and detrimental to other parts of life such as school work or a job, an intervention may be necessary. An intervention can be a complicated process that has to be handled delicately in order to be successful. It should be approached gently and in a non-judgmental way that allows your son to know that you care about them and want to provide support to get them help.
You should not project shame or guilt about their behaviors during an intervention or use it as an opportunity to interrogate them or blame them for their gambling addiction. By providing concrete examples of how their gambling has negatively impacted both their life and those of others, it can show them that their behavior needs to change and that getting help is necessary.
It can also be beneficial to enlist the help of a professional, such as a licensed interventionist or gambling addiction specialist. They can help you approach your son about their gambling habits and provide next steps and treatment options with which to move forward. Interventions can also include what consequences will occur if someone chooses to not get help. This may look like the loss of financial support or choosing to not be around that person if they continue to engage in problematic gambling.
