EXCLUSIVE — Senators have mounted a bipartisan appeal to the Trump administration to study what they say is an alarming and “rapid rise” in the rate of underage sports betting.
A bipartisan group, led by Sens. Katie Britt (R-AL) and Dick Durbin (D-IL), are pushing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to examine possible adverse effects on teenagers and young adults participating in the sports gambling world that has exploded to $150 billion in annual U.S. wagers.
“We believe policymakers and American families deserve to know the extent to which our children are engaging in potentially addictive and detrimental behavior,” the senators wrote to acting CDC Director Jim O’Neill in a letter sent Wednesday that was first seen by the Washington Examiner.
A 2018 Supreme Court ruling broke the dam that was holding back legalized sports betting, and as a result, a majority of states have since loosened their laws to allow various forms of sports gambling, which has been further boosted by online betting platforms.
The senators cited “limited research” on youth involvement on such platforms but called the existing studies “deeply troubling.” Those include a 2023 NCAA study that found a majority, 58%, of college students have wagered on at least one sports activity, sometimes against age restrictions. States or territories where sports betting is legal have varying minimum ages ranging from 18 to 21.
A 2022 study found 23% of students in grades 7 through 12 had sports gambled at least once in the past year; a 2024 study determined those who gamble younger than 18 years old are 50% more likely to develop a gambling problem than those who start after 18; and a 2024 survey found 1 in 6 parents say they would probably be unaware if their teenager was betting online.
The results were cited by the senators, who want the CDC to develop and incorporate questions about sports gambling into its youth risk behavior surveys conducted by high school students every two years to “give policymakers and families a better understanding of how, and to what extent, sports gambling is harming our children.”
The CDC did not provide a comment by the time of publication.
It is an issue personal finance expert Dave Ramsey recently declared is “destroying a generation of young men” because of its addictiveness and likelihood to lose money.
Britt, a rising star among Senate Republicans who has increasingly taken on leadership roles under President Donald Trump’s second term, led a separate and recent bipartisan effort to get the Justice Department to crack down on illegal offshore gambling operations. Durbin, who is retiring next year, is the second-ranked Democrat as minority whip and the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.
LEGALIZED SPORTS BETTING CREATES NEW GENERATION OF PROBLEMATIC GAMBLERS
Signatories included other heavy-hitters in the upper chamber: Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee; Brian Schatz (D-HI), who’s slated to succeed Durbin next year as Democratic whip; and Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
“It is imperative that we come together to further the research on this growing problem,” the senators wrote.
