Sports betting has gained more and more popularity in the last 5 years. However, people under the age of 18, including students at Lake Shore High School, have managed to work around the sports betting age limitations.

Sports betting generated 12.8 billion dollars in 2024, a big increase from 2023, which was 10.9 billion dollars. Americans wagered nearly 150 billion dollars on sports alone last year and who knows how much it will generate this year with its rapid increase in new users placing different bets on many different sports.

Jeff Valken, campus monitor, stated, “If I were your age, I would save my money rather than gambling out. That’s how you end up bankrupt or losing money.”

Valken is not a fan when it comes to losing money that you or your family worked hard for.

A Physical education teacher here at Lake Shore, Benjamin Maleszyk, said, “You guys shouldn’t be placing those in at all; I feel like doing that is a waste of time and money, you could be buying clothing or shoes than that”.

Maleszyk and Voldken are both upset that gambling has got out towards the younger generation. They both don’t know how far or how worse this will get.

Some students here at Lake Shore High School also had some things to say and their perspectives on it.

Namarion Moore, Junior, said, “Honestly, I feel putting in 10-20 dollars every day is a huge risk. I’d rather spend it on something more important like food or maybe essential things, but I still understand why people my age do it. You put in a bet for 10 dollars and could come out with 100 or 200.”

Micah Simpson, junior, said, “I disagree with the betting a lot, especially from people losing more and more money; they always lose and get more in debt.”

At Lake Shore High School the teachers and students all have different opinions,but almost all of the people stated that you lose plenty of money and eventually it all adds up from hundreds to thousands.