The Patriot Post® · Gambling Is Everywhere, and AI Is Making It Worse

It seems like every other TV commercial or social media ad these days promotes some form of gambling. The ads promise good times and fast payouts. And it’s working. Gambling is a billion-dollar industry that keeps growing, thanks to a 2018 Supreme Court ruling that opened the door to online sportsbooks.

In New York alone, users have gambled away billions of dollars.

“Since legal use began in 2022,” the Times Union explains, “more than $91.2 billion has been wagered by New Yorkers on sports betting apps like DraftKings and FanDuel, producing tax revenues of over $8 billion for the state.”

Across the country, gambling rakes in big profits at the expense of everyone else. This benefits platforms offering these games, but it’s also having a detrimental cultural effect.

Epic Research found that gambling disorders have soared by 60% in states where sports betting was legalized, and a study published by UCLA earlier this year found that credit card debt increased by nearly 25% in those states. Meanwhile, a survey conducted by the National Council on Problem Gambling found that nearly 20 million Americans reported problematic gambling behavior in the last year.

When users log into their DraftKings accounts or open a slot machine app on their phones, they think it’s all luck of the draw. But these companies have built-in features to take advantage of those who lose, which is almost everyone. They don’t care about the occasional winner when a thousand others have fallen prey to the algorithms.

“Sports gambling, a realm where intuition, experience, and sometimes sheer luck have traditionally dictated the rules, is undergoing a transformative shift,” Neil Sahota writes at Forbes. “AI, with its unparalleled ability to analyze vast datasets and discern patterns beyond human capability, is emerging as the new MVP in this field. This transition from gut-driven bets to AI-powered predictions is not just about increasing the odds of winning; it’s about elevating sports gambling to an art of calculated strategies.”

The data increases profits for companies that target gamblers with a history of losing by sending them irresistible promotional offers. When users take a break, the platforms keep them engaged so that a fun bet on a basketball game becomes an all-day habit. Some sports bettors are offered access to luxury suites, game day experiences, or sports memorabilia.

Artificial Intelligence helps operators calculate which offer would tempt bettors down on their luck, hoping one more bet on a college football game is all they need to get Lady Luck back on their side.

In reality, it’s not much different than a drug dealer who doesn’t care about the occasional user but instead targets those desperate for one more fix. And like drug dealers, it’s all about targeting the most vulnerable or those lacking emotional maturity or intellectual development to make good choices. That’s why sports betting companies are going after our children, and the damage goes far beyond financial losses.

As ESPN reports, “Children are exposed to gambling years before they turn 18 through video games, social media, TV ads and sometimes their own parents. A 2025 national survey by Common Sense Media found that more than one-third of 11- to 17-year-olds had gambled in some form within the past year; one in eight had bet on sports.”

According to a poll by the American Institute for Boys and Men, “Twenty-six percent of young men report using at least one sports betting, daily fantasy sports, prediction market, or gambling platform in the last six months, compared to 14% of the general public. Forty-one percent of prediction market users said their top reason for using the platform was to make money.”

The strong inclination to make fast cash is leading people into the abyss of addiction, and it’s not merely harming the person placing a wager. “Sports betting appears to be a major destabilizing factor in families with young children,” The Dispatch explains. “While betting is obviously a voluntary activity, it appears to be particularly dangerous for already vulnerable families; compromising the economic stability of spouses, children, and others in the household.”

Attorney Jennifer Hoekstra is one person taking on the gambling industry. As CBS News reports, “Hoekstra, a Florida attorney whose firm was involved in an earlier win in court against Meta, recently filed a series of 15 lawsuits against the two biggest sports gambling apps in the country, FanDuel and DraftKings. The cases follow a similar legal theory: that gambling apps were designed to addict.”

And now, New York State has followed its lawsuit against Kalshi by filing another against Polymarket for operating an unlicensed gambling operation, encouraging young people to gamble, and negatively impacting the emotional and financial health of its users.

Relying on states to take on the powerful gambling industry is a long and uncertain path toward helping those who have fallen prey to its manipulative power, especially when states count on their own citizens to gamble their paychecks away in order to balance state budgets. For now, recognizing how sports betting and online gambling harm individuals and families is an important step in helping them break their addiction.