Prediction markets and sports betting apps are luring in teens. Here's why experts are concerned

Prediction market platforms let users place money on real-world outcomes, including both mainstream events and absurd scenarios. Social media promotion exposes younger audiences to these sites through casual, meme-like language. Platforms attract users with low-stakes framing and game-like experiences that can reduce perceived risk. Academic analysis of 588 million trades on Polymarket found profits concentrated among a small group of top traders, while 69% of users lost money. Kalshi, Polymarket, and some sports wagering platforms are accessible at age 18, which is below the typical 21-year gambling age in many U.S. states. Experts warn that the late-teen and young-adult period may increase vulnerability to problematic gambling behavior and addiction, especially when gambling activity moves quickly and is normalized by adults.

"Kalshi shared a photo of him on Instagram with the words, "Wait he's goated." When a video of NBA player Damian Lillard recovering from an injury circulated online, Kalshi's main competitor Polymarket posted, "The league is cooked."If you don't know what either of those phrases mean, it's because you may not be the target audience.The posts and hundreds of others like it are exposing younger people to prediction market platforms, where users can put money on the line for the outcomes of real-world events - or absurd ones like when the U.S. will confirm that aliens exist or whether Jesus Christ will return before 2027."

"Once on the platforms, companies keep users hooked with what they market as low-stakes, casual opportunities to make an easy buck, creating an environment that some say feels more like a game and less like a risky financial transaction with potentially harmful consequences. Indeed, recent academic research looking at 588 million trades on Polymarket found that profits were concentrated to just a very small group of top traders while the majority of users - 69% - lost money."

"Kalshi, Polymarket and some sports wagering platforms are available to users starting at 18, mirroring the minimum age requirement for investing in the stock market but younger than the age limit of 21 for gambling in most U.S. states. That three-year window is critical to cognitive development, according to some experts, who note that teens and young adults are more vulnerable to developing problematic gambling behavior and addiction than older adults."

""The adults in the room are not taking the fact this is meant to be an adult activity seriously, so when adults don't take it seriously, why would the kids?" said Dr. Timothy Fong, an addiction psychiatrist and the co-director of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program, who notes that the "velocity of gambling" combined with the "frict"

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