The Odds are Never in your Favor: the Hidden Costs of Online Gambling

By: Gianna Monaco ‘27
Earlier this year, Westminster students had the privilege of hearing from Dr. Harry Levant, current Director of Gambling Policy with the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University School of Law, and an Internationally Certified Gambling Counselor who dealt with a serious gambling addiction earlier in his life. Dr. Levant, who hasn’t placed a bet since 2014, shared a unique perspective with the community. He discussed widespread sports betting via platforms like FanDuel and DraftKings, and prediction market applications such as Polymarket and Kalshi, which are becoming mainstream for high schoolers, college students, and adults alike. Dr. Levant, through public speaking events and a feature on CBS's 60 Minutes, is a leading voice on the public health impact of online sports betting. It’s undisputed that online sports betting platforms have taken over our phones, and that’s not going to change. Sports betting is now woven into how many people watch and talk about games, and pretending won’t help otherwise. What matters, Dr. Levant emphasized, is awareness of what we’re dealing with.
Regardless of what these companies advertise, they are built with algorithms deliberately designed to keep their audiences engaged, and utilize powerful tools that draw customers to gamble more frequently and at higher stakes. Micro-betting, which makes betting on games in the moment accessible, is faster and more compulsive than traditional methods. Every point, play, and period is an opportunity to wager as the game unfolds. It’s a similar situation with same-game parlays; appealing because of a chance to win big with a small payout, they allow you to combine multiple bets from a single game into one wager. Combined with micro-betting, they create a continuous cycle of losing a parlay, placing a micro-bet, rinse, repeat. 
But what often goes unnoticed, and it’s quite ironic all things considered, is the impact of sports betting on athletes. When fans, regardless of their athletic experience, start to place wagers on athletes, they become numbers in a financial transaction, not people with their own emotions. For young adult athletes, especially, sports betting may feel less like gambling in the traditional sense and more like an extension of their knowledge. Chances are, if you’ve played the game or been around it, you feel like you can predict it. Dr. Levant encouraged his audience to understand the signs of an unhealthy relationship with online sports betting and the difference between an addiction and a pastime. 
However, the legal system is beginning to catch up. A lawsuit filed in March of this year in Pennsylvania accused FanDuel, DraftKings, the NFL, and its data partner Genius Sports of using live NFL data to offer a "known addictive product." The NFL, which owns a stake in Genius Sports, has a direct interest in the growth of micro-betting, which would allow it to make significant profit. The two plaintiffs in the case lost a combined $2 million to the industry, and their attorneys argue their addictions were not accidental but rather the result of deliberate design choices by these powerful companies. 
Dr. Levant’s conversation wasn’t meant to scare students away from sports betting - it was a call to use a more responsible approach and go in with open eyes. The app in your pocket was built by people whose job it is to make you come back time and time again, but it’s our job to draw the line at casual fan.
https://www.espn.com/espn/betting/story/_/id/48297871/nfl-sportsbooks-defendants-gambling-addiction-lawsuit

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/sports-betting-apps-nfl-sued-over-addictive-product-designs