In 2022, furniture store owner Jim McIngvale bet $10 million on the Cincinnati Bengals to win Super Bowl LVI — but they lost to the Los Angeles Rams — and $6.2 million on college football bets.

According to casino.org, this was the largest recorded financial loss through sports gambling, reaching $15.4 million.

Although high school students probably won’t lose money to that extent, sports gambling has been on the rise as betting platforms have become more widely advertised and easily accessible.

Senior Casey Woo said he fell into the allure of sports gambling four years ago, at the beginning of his freshman year in June 2022. 

Despite being three years younger than the California age requirement of 18 years old to legally sports gamble, Woo said he found his way around that restriction using his dad’s ID, indulging in the wide range of sports available for betting after seeing advertisements on social media.

As it gradually became an integral part of his life, Woo said he had given up many of his possessions to bet more money, and had lost a lot of his bets.

“I’m down $10,000 on sports gambling [as of] today,” Woo said. “I have a pick right now, but if it doesn’t hit, I’m selling [my] car.”

To most, this seems like the perfect concoction to end up in trouble — but for some students at Sunny Hills, including Woo, it’s a way to make sports — and life — more entertaining.

WHAT IS SPORTS GAMBLING?

Sports gambling is a form of betting money that a specific situation will occur during a sports game, whether that be a player scoring a certain number of points, a coach performing a specific action, or a commentator saying a particular phrase. 

Through apps like PrizePicks and Underdog, individuals can place bets with an online community, risking a set amount of money. Then, based on what happens in the game, the individual will either lose or win money. 

“We put in our picks for a player for a game,” Woo said. “Then you hope it happens — if it doesn’t hit, then you don’t win the money.”

RISING TRENDS

According to a 2026 report on understanding gambling among adolescent boys by Common Sense Media, 41% of 14- to 17-year-old boys across the U.S. have participated in gambling activity in the past year, and 33% of boys in this age group specifically took part in sports-related gambling.

Prompted to investigate deeper into the prevalence of this behavior among teenage boys, clinical experts for the Child Mind Institute uncovered in an article about teens and gambling that these individuals most likely thrive on the excitement of taking a risk and possibly winning. 

“When you’re winning, gambling can be exciting, especially now that you can wager on anything, anytime — even the color of Gatorade poured on a coach or the length of the national anthem,” the article said. 

Supporting this claim, senior Jaden Baek, who is highly involved in sports gambling, said the excitement is the primary driving force behind his love for this hobby.

“I do it for the thrill — it makes me excited because every game gets more fun to watch since I got something on the line,” Baek said. “My dad put me on sports gambling — I saw him make a lot of money and lose a lot of money, and I thought that must be thrilling.”

Baek, Woo and their friend, senior Dylan Shue, said they place bets for everything — from basketball, football and esports to rock paper scissors, what keywords would be said during political speeches and how many bushes they’ll see the next time they drive on the highway.

“We bet on everything, not just sports,” Shue said. “We’ve even placed bets on when we’re going to World War III — but my favorite’s got to be betting on what the weather’s gonna be.” 

Senior Cole Kim, a close friend of the three seniors, said that he’s concerned about his friends getting too involved.

“I’ve seen how much money they lose, but how eager they are to participate regardless,” Kim said. “I’ve told them several times that they’re getting too deep into this, and that if they keep going, they’re never going to be able to get out, and it’s going to become an addiction.”

However, he said that despite his efforts to steer his friends away from making this into an addiction, the three seniors enjoy sports gambling too much to stop.

“There’s no point,” Kim said. “I’ve tried stopping them, but it won’t work — I just hope this doesn’t get too bad.”

On the other hand, the three seniors said they don’t see any danger in their actions.

“It’s a hobby and a source of income,” Baek said. “Beneficial in every way, so it’s good for us; we’re gonna get rich one day if we keep this up.”

Looking at the trends over the years, Advanced Placement Statistics teacher Kari Morita said there’s certainly a pattern, and sports betting ended up fitting into the present trends.

“In the ‘80s, it was the smoking — kids were addicted to smoking, but now, most of the addictions that students deal with are dealing with chemicals in their brain,” Morita said. “We’re just human beings who are always looking for the next big thing, and right now, it’s social media, which ties into the publicity of things like sports betting.”

During Super Bowl LX in February, Morita said she noticed the trend of placing bets on events not even related to the game itself, such as whether someone on screen is going to cry during the National Anthem.

“It’s just silly,” Morita said. “But if people didn’t bet on things like this, these companies wouldn’t exist — they are creating such easy ways to take people’s money and people will always fall for it.”

THE FIRST TASTE

Woo said he got into sports gambling through social media, and although he hasn’t made any profit yet, he sees himself carrying this hobby on for years into the future to earn money for college and spending money.

“Druski is my favorite streamer, so when I saw his promotional photos for PrizePicks, I got influenced into trying it myself,” Woo said. “Now, I’m not stopping until we meet our goal of two million — I see us, in a year, being up there.”

The Druski PrizePicks advertisement influenced many individuals like Woo, so much so that the company earned an advertising spot in the Super Bowl, the biggest annual sports event in the U.S., which Shue said is a great idea from a business perspective.

“He’s famous so clearly, [PrizePicks] knows what they’re doing,” Shue said. “When I saw the ad during halftime, I was like, ‘Oh, I gotta put in a bet right now’ — it’s just so addictive when I see PricePicks and Druski.”

Similarly, senior Elias Vorathavorn said that although he gained interest in sports gambling through his friends, he often sees ads for it on social media.

“I saw one of my friends doing it, so I tried it out since I had just turned 18,” Vortahavorn said. “I usually see ads on social media promoting sports betting, but they don’t really influence my interest.”

HARMLESS OR HARMFUL

Despite the state’s age requirement for sports gambling, Baek said he was able to get around the restriction easily when he first started by using his parents’ identification information.

“I’ve been doing this for around four years now, and I think the restrictions are easy to get around if you have the right mindset – like you shouldn’t let an obstacle stop you from reaching your goals,” Baek said. “But I think there should be no age restriction since everyone deserves the right opportunities to earn money.”

On the other hand, Morita said she is concerned about the uprising in sports gambling among her students, but is also understanding of why they might be tempted to indulge. 

“I try to teach my students that any type of gambling is not in your favor; there’s a reason why these apps are going wild — because they’re making tons of money off of you,” she said. “But when you’re watching a game, it is fun to know that if this person scores this many points, you’re going to make 20 bucks — I get it, it’s fun, but the money is not guaranteed, and you have no control over it at the end of the day.”

Morita said that ultimately, there is no way for Sunny Hills to control what students engage in outside of school, but she thinks the school puts in a good effort to keep these habits off campus.

“We do a good job following the rules, and I wouldn’t imagine that we would have a sports betting club, but if students were to propose it, the school would not sponsor that,” Morita said. “I try to teach my students to learn the math behind it too — how to have the advantage, but if you’re planning on making money off it, it’s probably not gonna happen.”