Even a broken clock is right twice a day, a truth that was proven yet again when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York 14th), colloquially known as AOC), posted on X that gambling is bad for society. It’s hard to imagine I’m typing this, but AOC is entirely correct.
The now-viral social media post was a response to the news that Major League Baseball (MLB) has named Polymarket as its “Exclusive Prediction Market Exchange Partner.” For those blissfully unaware, prediction markets have exploded over the past year as a popular form of gambling. They allow people to place bets on nearly everything, from the outcome of the Iran war, who will be the next Cabinet official to be fired, what the weather will be like in a month, and how many strikes a particular MLB pitcher will throw in a given game. If you can dream it, you can bet on it.
AOC’s response to this news was that it’s “sad… Pervasive gambling is not good for society. It turns life into a casino, traps people in addiction & debt, surges domestic violence, and fosters manipulation.”
The gambling industry in 2026 encourages far more than just the sporadic bet. It has taken the traditional casino model with all its entrapments – constant distraction, encouragement to play just one more time – and put it into everyone’s pocket via their phone. Where once Americans needed to physically go somewhere to gamble, the barrier to entry is now just $5 and an internet connection. Online sports betting and prediction markets promise light-hearted entertainment and an escape from the demands of everyday life. Influencers and politicians on both sides of the aisle tout its merits and even advertise them on their platforms. But the assurance of easy money from DraftKings, Kalshi, the aforementioned Polymarket, and the like has encouraged thousands to join an industry that promises delight but instead delivers enslavement to debt and compulsion.
Gambling has long been a societal taboo for good reason. The most obvious is the financial hole into which problem gamblers fall. Gambling debt can strain a family’s finances and lead to unpaid financial obligations. It preys on the most financially vulnerable. Money that would otherwise go toward housing, electricity, and food is spent on fueling the gambling addiction. Gamblers also tend to hide their financial situation, leading to tension and stress in their personal relationships. The shame and guilt associated with gambling is partly why it has the highest suicide rate of any addiction – the NIH reports that 1 in 2 gamblers considers suicide, and 1 in 5 attempts it. Studies have found that, in states with legal sports betting, domestic violence rates following an upset loss in football or basketball is 6 to 7 points higher than in states without legalized sports betting.
Gambling affects more than just individuals and their families, though that is reason enough to limit it. Studies show that communities with gambling venues have significantly higher crime rates, including fraud, theft, and embezzlement.
This is just a small sampling of the growing body of research that proves gambling’s multitude of bad consequences. And yet, the ubiquitousness of gambling via sports betting and prediction markets has led many to believe that it is not a moral issue. In a 2025 Pew Research study, only 29% of Americans view gambling as a moral wrong, a far lower rate than most other countries surveyed, with the exception of Canada. Most Americans see gambling as a fun way to try to make money. Whether or not someone chooses to engage in it is viewed as merely a question of personal preference, not one of vice or virtue.
The rate at which the market is growing proves that gambling does not have the negative connotations it once did. Among adults, nearly 50% of men ages 18-49 now have a sportsbook account. Roughly 20% of all Americans participated in sports betting in the past year. Monthly trading volume in predictions markets grew from $1.2 billion in early 2025 to $20 billion in January 2026.
Even more concerning is the number of minors being pulled into gambling. Currently, very few restrictions apply to either online sports betting or prediction markets, except for age restrictions. But even with those in place, children are finding their way onto the betting platforms. A recent study revealed that, despite age restrictions on sports betting apps, thousands of minors are still accessing them. According to the report, 36% of boys across the nation gambled in the last year, including nearly a third of 11-year-old boys and almost half of 17-year-olds.
The trouble is not only that the number of kids gambling has increased, but the number of kids who are enslaved by it has skyrocketed. Another study reported that 5% of kids ages 12-17 have gambling problems, which is quadruple what it was two years. A gambling problem is not the occasional placing of a bet – it is a persistent, uncontrollable urge to gamble despite negative consequences. But it usually does not start like that. Gambling has always been age-restricted because the part of the brain that governs risk and reward has not fully matured in the brain of a child. But because sports betting is so easily accessible now, thousands of kids are encountering a world of high-stakes loss before they are ready for it.
So yes, AOC is right – gambling is bad. And the pervasiveness of online betting has made gambling and all of its consequences easier for everyone to access.
Though Congress has done little to address the growth of the online gambling industry, there is much it could do, starting with holding investigative hearings into the predatory practices of the major gambling companies. They could also limit the number of sports betting advertisements during sporting events, setting out guidance about the design of the platforms to reduce their addictive qualities, designating what can and cannot be bet on, just to name a few solutions.
Gambling has always been a tumor on society, and it will be to our detriment if we allow it to continue to grow. It is incumbent on Congress to protect our children, especially, from an industry that ensnares Americans of all ages every single day.
