Wauwatosa West senior Jon Urban used to feel bored while watching sports. There wasn’t enough at stake, and nothing felt on the line.
“I feel like betting on sports games makes the game more interesting because I actually have something at stake,” Urban said. “If I wasn’t betting, I probably wouldn’t watch the games.”
Urban picked up sports betting from his brother and hasn’t looked back. For him, betting makes games more impactful and entertaining—it gives him a reason to care.
“When I was watching the Packers game the other day, I already cared about the team,” he said. “But putting $10 on the line made me want to watch even more.”
Sports betting has become a major part of American culture over the past few years. From apps like PrizePicks to Underdog, online sportsbooks bring in hundreds of millions of dollars each year. According to the American Sports Fanship Survey conducted between Jan. 6–11, 2025, about 22% of the 3,047 respondents reported having a sports betting account, with most users being men between the ages of 16 and 49.
That statistic raises a concern: many of those accounts may belong to underage teens who are not legally allowed to gamble.
“I just turned 18 a few days ago, and one of the first things I did was create an account on FanDuel,” said Wauwatosa West senior Max Zylstra.
Wauwatosa West senior Noah Schmidt created his sports betting account when he was only 17, using his older brother’s information.
“My brother told me to create the account. I didn’t really have any interest in placing bets, but once I had the account, I was hooked,” Schmidt said. “It was very easy to create the account, and there was really no verification needed at all.”
A large majority of sports gamblers lose money over time, with most ending up in the negative and never recovering their losses. For teenagers, this can create early patterns of risky behavior and financial trouble.
“I realized early that this was not something I wanted to continue doing because I saw how addicted I was already becoming,” Schmidt said. “The first time I put $20 on a game, I lost it, and I decided that this isn’t really something I want to do anymore.”
Urban admits he is aware of the risks but sees small bets as harmless fun.
“I don’t think it’s a big deal if you do it right,” Urban said. “Putting $5 on a game isn’t really risky. It’s better than wasting that money on snacks, and sometimes you can make a little money.”
Whether it’s about excitement, social connection, or the chance to win, sports betting has found a place among young fans—including students at Tosa West. But as more teenagers get involved, questions about access, responsibility, and addiction continue to grow.
Wauwatosa West counselor Nicholas Becker says sports gambling can be extremely damaging to a developing mind and says the issue is personal for him.
“Gambling in general is an issue of focus. Gambling addicts can’t take their minds off gambling, and it takes focus away from everything else in your life that matters,” Becker said. “It’s personal to me because of my father’s struggles with gambling addiction. I saw what it did to him throughout his life.”
