Young and Hooked On The Game: Is There a Sports Betting Crisis?

The Dr. Phil Podcast

Dr. Phil McGraw

Education, Society & Culture

4.3 • 13.5K Ratings

🗓️ 21 May 2026

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Since the Supreme Court allowed states to legalize sports betting 8 years ago, the industry has exploded with over $160 billion dollars legally bet on sports last year … especially with the introduction of mobile and online sports books. Many claim the legalization has allowed betting on teams, and even individual players, to not only become the new normal, but an accepted part of sports culture. Some experts claim this normalization, along with the online accessibility, and marketing centered around sports betting, could be leading to a health crisis among young male adults – a group who are reported to have the highest sports gambling rates. Dr. Phil speaks with Mason, a 21-year-old college senior who is a popular sports betting influencer who says although he believes the industry targets young adults, particularly colleges students, he says it’s unfair to blame the sports betting industry for gambling addiction. Dr. Phil will also speak with Dustin, a young man who says betting on sports started off as innocent fun, but then snowballed into a powerful addiction that saw him betting nearly a quarter of a million dollars in just 3 years. Now, Dustin says it’s been 212 days since he last placed a sports bet, find out how betting sobriety has changed his life. Plus, Dr. Phil will speak with Kyle, a college student sports journalist who knows the topic of sports betting on his college campus well. Find why Kyle says prop betting on an individual athlete’s performance is very popular among college students.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Well, watching sports may be one of the most loved, shared experiences in American culture.
0:11.0	At least it used to be. You'll find out why I say that in a minute.
0:16.0	An event that has magical ability to connect people from all walks of life as they cheer on the
0:22.5	home team or console one another in the agony of defeat. But there is a concern that watching
0:29.5	sports for the love of the game is being replaced with a whole new sports culture, chasing
0:36.5	victories for money.
0:39.5	Since the Supreme Court allowed states to legalize sports betting eight years ago, the industry
0:45.8	has exploded with over $160 billion, with a B, $160 billion, legally bet on sports last year, especially with the
0:59.0	introduction of mobile and online sports books. Now, many claim the legalization has allowed
1:05.5	betting on teams and even individualized players to not only become the new normal, but has become an accepted
1:14.6	part of sports culture, which is really hard to argue when you see sports leagues, celebrities,
1:21.9	media companies, social influencers, and more partnering with sports betting industry giants.
1:29.3	The question now is, has this normalization along with online accessibility and marketing
1:37.3	centered around sports betting leading to a health crisis, a health crisis among young adult males, a group who are reported to have
1:47.0	the highest sports gambling rates. Now some experts say yes. My first guest, Mason, is a 21-year-old
1:57.0	college senior and also a popular sports betting influencer known online as the intern Mason.
2:06.1	He claims although he 100% believes his industry targets young adults, particularly college
2:13.2	students, he says it's unfair to blame the sports betting industry for gambling addiction.
2:18.9	So Mason, thanks for joining us.
2:22.0	Oh, Dr. Phil, thank you for having me.
2:24.3	So how did you get into this?
2:27.7	Yeah, so it was my freshman year. I go to Providence College up in Rhode Island.
	...

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