nfl sports betting is growing rapidly

By Paul Raskin ‘27 
 CBS Sports estimates that 35 billion dollars will be spent on NFL betting during the 2024-2025 NFL season alone. Over the years sports betting has seen a monumental increase in popularity reflected by the large revenue it generates.

Sports betting wasn’t widely popular until recent years. Many states have passed laws to grant citizens the right to bet. 
The 2023-2024 NFL season saw a surge in viewership due to Taylor Swift’s relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs star Travis Kelce, ushering in more female viewership as well as increased levels of gambling: 26.7 billion dollars including 128 million worth of bets placed on the Super Bowl.   
When sports betting became available online, consumers could bet sums of money from the convenience of their phones. This convenience attracted many more people to betting including teens. Some parents have set up sportsbooks with their legal information, and then let their teens do the actual betting. 
 Popular sportsbooks such as BetMGM, DraftKings, and Fanduels attract people through deals and small promises. One recent popular DraftKings commercial features Lebron James and Kevin Hart. The advertisement uses comedy and popular celebrities to captivate fans and nonfans, simultaneously sprinkling in deals, saying phrases like “New customers bet $5 get $200 instantly” or “sign up to get a month of NFL+ on us,” which lures new people into downloading their apps. 
“When I watch a sports game, every single TV break there is always at least one advertisement promoting an online casino or sportsbook,” says Junior, Josh Berelowitz. These promotions and advertisements have driven a 228% increase in sports betting throughout the 2023-2024 NFL season. 
While sports betting can be enjoyable for numerous reasons such as the thrill of potentially winning money and the satisfaction of knowledge paying off, there also are addiction concerns. 
Every small win triggers dopamine production. The fulfilling feeling of winning or the disappointment of losing keeps people engaged and interested which has negative effects.
Often, sportsbooks will include addiction messages in their ads to provide caution to people interacting with their platforms.
Employees and stakeholders claim they are focused on establishing responsible gambling measures to mitigate the potential risks associated with betting.