The nation's largest sports betting platforms are flooding election cycles with unprecedented political spending, even as educators and public health officials sound alarms about gambling's grip on young people.

DraftKings, FanDuel, and Fanatics have collectively poured $41 million into a super PAC aimed at shaping regulatory policy, according to reporting by The New York Times. The massive investment represents the industry's most aggressive political play since states began legalizing sports betting following a 2018 Supreme Court decision.

The timing is striking. Just as these companies ramp up their influence campaigns, school counselors and administrators are reporting what many describe as a crisis of student gambling addiction — one that has caught education systems largely unprepared.

A Regulatory Landscape in Flux

Since the Supreme Court struck down the federal ban on sports betting eight years ago, 38 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the practice in some form. The industry has exploded from virtually nothing to a market generating over $120 billion in annual wagers, according to the American Gaming Association.

But that rapid expansion has created a patchwork of state regulations, with widely varying rules on advertising, age verification, and problem gambling resources. The industry's super PAC spending appears designed to influence which candidates — and which regulatory approaches — prevail as more states consider legislation.

"What we're seeing is an industry trying to get ahead of the regulatory curve," said Dr. Marcus Chen, a public policy researcher at Georgetown University who studies gambling regulation. "They learned from cannabis and vaping that the window for shaping rules is narrow, and they're spending accordingly."

The $41 million war chest dwarfs previous political spending by gambling interests and rivals expenditures by major tech companies on single-issue campaigns.

The School Connection No One Anticipated

What industry lobbyists and state legislators didn't anticipate was how quickly sports betting would penetrate youth culture — and school buildings.

Counselors in states with legal sports betting report a troubling pattern: students as young as middle school age accessing betting platforms through older siblings' accounts, using lunch money and part-time job earnings to place wagers, and experiencing the anxiety and depression that accompany gambling losses.

"I've had students come to me in tears because they've lost hundreds of dollars — sometimes thousands — betting on games," said Jennifer Okafor, a high school counselor in New Jersey, one of the first states to legalize sports betting. "These are kids who've never struggled with substance abuse or other addictive behaviors. The gambling just seemed like harmless fun until it wasn't."

A 2025 study by the National Council on Problem Gambling found that 7.3% of high school students in states with legal sports betting reported placing bets in the past year — triple the rate in states where betting remains illegal. Among college students, the figure jumped to 23%.

The data reveals a troubling demographic pattern: young men from lower-income communities show the highest rates of problem gambling, mirroring broader patterns of predatory financial products targeting vulnerable populations.

Schools Scramble for Solutions

Most school districts lack protocols for addressing gambling addiction, and many counselors report feeling ill-equipped to recognize warning signs or provide appropriate interventions.

"We have procedures for everything — drug use, eating disorders, self-harm," said Thomas Brennan, a principal at a Massachusetts high school. "But gambling? We're figuring it out as we go."

Some states have begun requiring problem gambling education in schools, though implementation varies widely. Massachusetts allocated $2 million in its 2025 budget for school-based gambling prevention programs, while Connecticut mandated that health curricula include gambling addiction awareness starting this academic year.

But these efforts face an uphill battle against the industry's sophisticated marketing apparatus. Sports betting ads saturate broadcasts of games popular with young viewers, and betting odds are now integrated into sports coverage itself — normalizing gambling as simply part of being a fan.

The Regulatory Tightrope

The industry's political spending comes as several states consider tightening regulations. Proposed measures include stricter age verification, limits on advertising during sporting events, mandatory contributions to problem gambling treatment, and "cooling off" periods that would prevent users from immediately re-depositing after losses.

Industry representatives argue that overregulation could push bettors toward illegal offshore platforms that lack any consumer protections. They point to their voluntary responsible gambling initiatives and partnerships with problem gambling organizations.

"We take our responsibility seriously," a DraftKings spokesperson said in a statement last month. "We've invested millions in tools that help customers set limits and seek help when needed."

Critics counter that those tools are undermined by aggressive marketing and platform designs engineered to maximize engagement — the same playbook that drew scrutiny to social media companies.

Following the Money

Campaign finance disclosures reveal that the industry's super PAC has targeted races where candidates have voiced support for stricter gambling regulations. In several state legislative races, the PAC has spent more than the candidates themselves raised.

The strategy appears focused on state-level races rather than federal contests, reflecting the reality that gambling regulation remains primarily a state issue. But the concentration of spending in specific races has raised concerns about industry influence over the democratic process.

"When an industry can outspend everyone else combined in a state legislative race, we have to ask whether elected officials can truly represent their constituents' interests," said Amanda Reeves, executive director of Common Cause Massachusetts.

What Comes Next

As the 2026 midterm elections approach, the tension between industry growth and public health concerns shows no signs of resolving. States that haven't yet legalized sports betting face intense lobbying from both sides, while states with existing legal frameworks debate whether their regulations go far enough.

For educators like Okafor, the political debates feel distant from the daily reality of students struggling with gambling problems.

"I don't care about the industry's profit margins or their political contributions," she said. "I care about the 16-year-old sitting in my office who's contemplated suicide because he lost his college savings account betting on basketball games. That's the conversation we should be having."

As sports betting companies invest tens of millions in shaping their regulatory future, schools are left managing the human cost of an industry that expanded faster than society's ability to understand its consequences — particularly for its youngest and most vulnerable would-be customers.