Sports Betting Addiction & Gambling Debt Lawyers

If you or someone you love is struggling with gambling debt or addiction tied to sports betting apps, legal help may be available. You are not alone, and you may have the right to seek financial compensation.

Across the country, sports betting lawsuits are being filed by young adults and college students who developed serious gambling problems after being targeted by online sportsbooks. These platforms use deceptive promotions and psychologically manipulative features to encourage excessive betting, while failing to implement meaningful safeguards.

On top of the deceptive practices by these platforms, several colleges have partnered with online sportsbooks through marketing and profit-sharing agreements, giving gambling apps direct access to students and helping normalize their use on campus.

Who Can File a Sports Betting Addiction Lawsuit?

You or a loved one may be eligible for a sports betting lawsuit settlement if you meet the following criteria:

• Are between the ages of 18 and 30
• Used platforms like FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, ESPN Bet, Fanatics, or Bet365
• Developed a gambling addiction or compulsive betting behavior
• Incurred $10,000 or more in gambling-related losses or debt
• Can provide bank records, app data, or credit card statements showing your betting activity

At Saiontz & Kirk, P.A., our lawyers are investigating claims for college students and young adults throughout the U.S., to help recover financial losses, and additional compensation for damage to their academic or career goals.

Why Are Sports Betting Addiction Lawsuits Being Filed?

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the federal ban on sports betting in 2018, legalized sports gambling has exploded into a multibillion-dollar industry. What was once confined to casinos and betting shops is now available 24/7 through mobile apps, with no physical barrier, no meaningful age verification, and virtually no restrictions on access to gambling debt.

According to the American Gaming Association, revenue from legalized gambling in the form of mobile betting and casino games has skyrocketed, yet little has been done to address the rise in gambling disorder and problem gambling, especially among financially constrained households and students.

This sports betting boom has led to a sharp increase in gambling addiction among college students and young adults, who are disproportionately targeted through social media, campus promotions, and influencer partnerships.

Lawsuits now claim that these online betting platforms are predatory by design, exploiting behavioral psychology to encourage prolonged betting and high losses, especially among users with limited financial literacy.

Recent data shows a widescale gambling problem in the U.S.:

• 1 in 6 college students has used financial aid to fund gambling
• 58% of students have participated in some form of online sports betting
• Many young users accumulate $10,000–$50,000 or more in gambling-related debt
• Universities have signed profit-sharing deals with betting apps, raising questions about institutional responsibility

These lawsuits aim to hold both the gambling companies and partnered educational institutions accountable for creating an environment where addictive behavior is not just possible, but expected.

Online Sports Betting Apps Have Removed Traditional Safeguards

Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court allowing legalized sports betting, historically, gambling regulations included several layers of protection designed to reduce the risk of gambling addiction and ruin, such as in-person ID checks, minimum betting age enforcement, and location-based restrictions tied to physical casinos. However, after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized sports gambling, mobile betting apps have eliminated many of these safeguards, giving users the ability to place high-risk wagers in seconds, from anywhere, with limited oversight.

These apps are engineered to hook users with:

• Addictive app mechanics designed to mimic slot machines and video games
• Push notifications and limited-time offers that create a false sense of urgency
• Targeted advertising on TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat that appeals to students
• Bonuses and promotions that require continued betting to unlock rewards

College students, many of whom are managing money independently for the first time—are particularly vulnerable. They’re betting during lectures, while studying, even in the middle of the night. And when they lose, they’re often losing money borrowed through credit card debt, student loans, or family funds intended for their education.

The college sports betting lawsuits are being pursued by students and families nationwide, alleging that this ecosystem is not just unethical, it’s legally actionable. Claims include negligent marketing, product liability, and institutional failures to prevent foreseeable harm, especially when schools have a financial stake in the platforms being promoted.

How Sports Betting Platforms Encourage Addiction

Online sports betting platforms are designed to do more than facilitate wagering—they are engineered to foster dependency. Through a calculated mix of behavioral science, real-time analytics, and psychological manipulation, these apps turn casual users into compulsive bettors.

These platforms offer aggressive promotional terms, including so-called no sweat bets and “risk-free” offers, which are anything but. Many of these promotions mislead users by implying they can win with no risk—when in reality, they are structured to encourage multiple bets and ongoing deposit activity.

Some platforms may be liable for unjust enrichment, profiting from users who were never properly warned of the dangers of gambling addiction or given access to functional responsible gaming tools.

This is especially dangerous for young adults, whose brains are still developing in areas responsible for impulse control and risk management. The platforms know this, and they’ve built experiences to exploit it.

Addiction by Design: How Apps Target Young Bettors

From the moment users sign up, betting apps create a cycle of constant engagement. These aren’t passive gambling tools—they’re interactive, gamified ecosystems designed to blur the line between entertainment and real financial risk.

Here’s how they work:

• Targeted Ads: Social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram deliver ads tailored to college-age users, often featuring influencers and athletes promoting “risk-free” or “instant win” offers.
• Sticky Bonus Systems: Promotions like “Bet $5, Get $200” require users to continually wager to unlock bonus funds, encouraging deeper loss chasing and continued play.
• Flash Bets and Live Odds: Apps send push notifications during live events, prompting impulsive in-game wagers with constantly shifting odds—maximizing bets during emotional, high-adrenaline moments.
• Gamification Mechanics: Levels, badges, streaks, and loyalty points simulate the mechanics of mobile games, rewarding users for placing more bets—even when losing.
• Opaque Losses: Apps often display balances as “credits” rather than dollars, masking the real cost of wagers and making it easier for users to disconnect from their financial losses.
• Lack of Guardrails: Despite public claims, responsible gambling tools are usually hidden or ineffective. Platforms rarely intervene, even when users exhibit signs of addiction, such as excessive late-night betting or dozens of deposits in a short timeframe.

These systems are not accidental, rather, they are deliberate features intended to keep users engaged and betting, long after they’ve lost control.

How Colleges Helped Open the Door to Student Gambling

While the apps themselves are under heavy scrutiny, student sports betting lawsuits are also being filed against colleges and universities that signed lucrative deals with online sportsbooks, exposing students to gambling on campus, and in some cases—profiting from their participation.

Many of these same universities sold student access to banks and financial institutions, which provided easy access to credit card debt and loans that were then used to fund sports betting deposits.

These partnerships blurred ethical and legal boundaries, raising serious questions about the role schools played in enabling sports gambling addiction.

University Sponsorship Deals With Gambling Companies

Several well-known universities entered into direct marketing arrangements with gambling platforms, granting companies access to students through co-branded emails, signage, social media, and event sponsorships:

• Michigan State University & Caesars Sportsbook: Featured on-campus promotions and co-branded advertising at athletic events. (MSU Spartans)
• Louisiana State University (LSU) & Caesars Entertainment: Promotional betting emails were sent to student email accounts, including underage recipients. (Louisiana Illuminator)
• University of Colorado Boulder & PointsBet: Entered a revenue-sharing agreement that included bonuses for every new signup. The partnership was later dissolved after public backlash. (CU Independent)

Universities are supposed to protect student well-being, not place them in harm’s way. But these partnerships gave gambling companies unprecedented access to one of the most vulnerable demographics in America. According to legal claims, these schools:

• • Promoted gambling platforms directly to students
  • Did not implement safeguards to prevent the use of student loans or credit to fund bets
  • Profited financially from student participation

For young adults already at risk for compulsive behaviors, these deals helped normalize betting as just another part of college life.

Why College Students Are Especially Vulnerable: Easy Access to Gambling Funds

The danger of mobile sports betting isn’t just in its design, it’s in how easy it is for students to access money to gamble with. Most college students have multiple sources of disposable or unsecured funds, none of which are regulated when it comes to online gambling use.

Where the Money Comes From

Platforms don’t need students to be rich—they just need them to have accounts they can pull from:

• Excess student loan disbursements: Refunds from federal and private loans are placed directly into student bank accounts with no restriction on spending.
• On-campus credit card marketing: Students frequently receive pre-approved credit card offers with low limits and high interest rates—easily linked to apps.
• Financial support from parents or guardians: Well-meaning family members often unknowingly fund gambling through weekly transfers or emergency help.
• Part-time job income or savings: Even modest income from part-time work can be funneled into small wagers that snowball over time.

How the Platforms Exploit This

Sports betting apps are built to capitalize on that access. They encourage small deposits, offer instant bonuses for re-loading accounts, and frame betting as entertainment rather than financial risk. When students lose, they’re pushed to chase losses with even more deposits, often from borrowed or loaned funds.

What makes this worse is that many of the same institutions that disbursed those funds also invited betting platforms onto campus. They allowed:

• Unrestricted loan access, often before students understood budgeting
• Direct marketing to students through sponsored events and email blasts
• Zero oversight over how tuition refunds or aid were spent

This resulted in students being handed both the tools to gamble and the incentives to start, all within an environment that treated it like a normal part of campus culture.

The Financial Impact: Student Debt and Gambling Losses

What often begins as casual sports betting can rapidly spiral into a life-altering financial crisis for college students and young adults.

With easy access to student loans, credit cards, and parental support, many users find themselves wagering borrowed money within days of downloading a gambling app, and racking up tens of thousands in debt before anyone notices.

How College Students Sports Betting Debts Spiral

• Student Loans Disbursed as Cash: A student receives a $3,000 loan refund meant for books and rent. One Saturday, they place a few live bets and lose half. Chasing those losses over several weekends, they blow through the full refund. That borrowed money now accrues interest and becomes a long-term financial burden—whether they graduate or not.
• Campus-Promoted Credit Cards: After signing up for “student-friendly” credit cards at a campus table, a student has $2,000 in available credit. Within a month, they’ve maxed out both cards funding bets on college football games and live parlays. With no reliable income and 25% APR, minimum payments barely touch the balance—and late fees start piling on.
• Savings or Family Inheritance Lost: A student uses money gifted for college expenses—whether a 529 withdrawal, a graduation check, or inheritance—to gamble, often while intoxicated or anxious. Hundreds or thousands can vanish in a single weekend, leaving families blindsided and helpless to recover what’s lost.
• Paycheck Drain from Part-Time Jobs: Even students working jobs to make ends meet aren’t safe. Betting apps are linked directly to bank accounts, allowing paychecks to be drained as soon as they hit—sometimes within hours. These small bets add up quickly, leaving students unable to pay for essentials like food, gas, or rent.

The Long-Term Consequences of Sports Betting

Once the cycle starts, the effects of student sports betting are rarely short-term. Gambling debt leads to cascading problems in nearly every area of life:

• Debt Spiral: Students turn to friends, payday loans, or pawnshops when formal funds run dry. Some begin using financial aid cards or opening additional credit lines, each decision compounding the financial damage.
• Academic Disruption: Financial anxiety and time spent betting can lead to missed assignments, failed exams, and class withdrawals. Many students report losing scholarships, being placed on academic probation, or dropping out entirely due to the toll gambling takes.
• Credit Destruction: Maxed-out cards, missed payments, and defaulted loans destroy a young person’s credit early in life—making it harder to rent housing, buy a car, or pass background checks tied to employment.
• Family Fallout: Gambling addictions are often kept secret until it’s too late. When debt surfaces, families may be forced to step in—emptying savings, co-signing emergency loans, or facing the emotional toll of watching their child unravel.

What Compensation Can You Recover From a Sports Betting Lawsuit?

If a sports betting platform or affiliated university contributed to your gambling addiction or financial losses through deceptive marketing, negligent oversight, or failure to implement responsible safeguards, you may be entitled to pursue compensation through a civil lawsuit.

While every case is unique, successful claims may recover damages for a variety of economic and non-economic losses tied to the gambling addiction, which could include:

• Reimbursement of Gambling Losses: Recovery of funds lost as a result of addiction, including student loan disbursements, credit card debt, or personal savings used to place bets.
• Repayment of Debt or Credit Card Balances: Compensation for debts that were directly incurred through the use of betting platforms, including interest, fees, and penalties tied to compulsive gambling activity.
• Damage to Credit Standing: Compensation for the long-term harm caused by missed payments, defaulted accounts, or collections activity that impacted your credit score and financial future.
• Academic or Career Setbacks: If your addiction led to academic probation, withdrawal from school, or lost scholarships, you may be eligible for compensation tied to those setbacks.
• Mental Health and Treatment Costs: Reimbursement for therapy, counseling, or addiction treatment services related to compulsive gambling.
• Pain and Suffering / Emotional Distress: Compensation for emotional and psychological harm, including anxiety, depression, or shame caused by the addiction and resulting financial distress.

Are There Any Costs to Hire a Sports Betting Addiction Lawyer?

There are no out-of-pocket costs to review your case or hire our attorneys. Sports betting addiction lawsuits are being evaluated nationwide, and all cases are handled on a contingency fee basis.

This means that individuals who have suffered gambling-related financial losses, credit damage, or emotional harm can access the experience and resources of Saiontz & Kirk, P.A., regardless of their financial situation.

Through the use of contingency attorney fees, individuals have access to the experience and resources of our national law firm for their potential sports betting addiction lawsuit, regardless of their individual financial resources.