Gambling Ed? DraftKings Suggests High Schools Teach Kids About Gambling
Posted on: March 28, 2026, 03:53h.
Last updated on: March 30, 2026, 04:36h.
- Should the dangers of gambling be taught in high schools?
- A responsible gaming advocate for DraftKings thinks it would be smart to inform younger people about gambling
Online casino and sportsbook operators DraftKings and its primary competitors, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, and Fanatics, have been blamed for increasing problem gambling rates in the United States.
A senior responsible gaming officer within the iGaming and online sportsbook platform recently asserted her belief that schools should be instructing students about the risks of gambling addictions.
Lori E. Kalani, DraftKings chief responsible gaming officer, spoke with The Hill’s Elizabeth Prann for an episode of “Raising America.” In the interview, Kalani suggested that high schools implement responsible gaming classes into their curriculum as a preventative measure.
“Times change. When I was in high school, and I’m old, they weren’t talking about social media and privacy. I think people are waking up and saying we should be talking to the younger generation about gambling,” Kalani said.
“Gambling is everywhere. Kids can play real money games even with video games. The more people are educated that this is fun, but moderation is the smart way to do it and stay safe, is important,” Kalani continued.
March Is Responsible Gaming Month
Kalani’s comments come as Problem Gambling Awareness Month, an annual campaign put on by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) nears its conclusion.
The theme for this year’s campaign, “Caring Communities, Stronger Futures,” emphasizes the importance of a community driven approach to problem gambling awareness and support.
The only national nonprofit dedicated to minimizing gambling harms, the Washington D.C.-headquartered organization suggests gambling problems are on the rise.
A study conducted by UC San Diego in February 2025 concurred. The school’s researchers found that internet searches for gambling help surged 23% between 2018 and 2024.
The start of the surge coincided with the overturning by the US Supreme Court in May 2018 of PASPA, a federal law limiting single-game sports betting to Nevada.
This landmark decision opened up the floodgates to sports gambling and helped bring the gaming industry into the mainstream across many U.S. states.
“Parallel with the growth in sportsbooks, internet searches for help with gambling addiction, such as ‘am I addicted to gambling,’ have cumulatively increased 23% nationally since Murphy v. NCAA through June 2024. This corresponds with approximately 6.5 to 7.3 million searches for gambling addiction help-seeking nationally, with 180,000 monthly searches at its peak,” the study reported.
Internet help searches were significantly higher in states where online sports betting is allowed, including in Ohio (67%), Pennsylvania (50%), Massachusetts (47%), and Michigan (37%).
Sports Betting Losses
According to data from the American Gaming Association, the sports betting industry generated almost $17 billion in 2025, with bettors wagering $166.94m in the same period.
The $16.96 billion in sports betting revenue represented a 23% year-over-year gain and an all-time best annual mark for the industry.
New York is the largest sports betting market, with oddsmakers there taking $26 billion in bets and keeping $2.5 billion of the money.
In New York, DraftKings facilitated $8.6 billion in online bets during the 2024-25 fiscal year that ended in March 2025. The platform generated gross wagering revenue of $727.9 million.
Last Comment ( 1 )
The DraftKings representative says "[Gambling] is fun, but moderation is the smart way to do it and stay safe..." The primary message conveyed here is simply that "Gambling is fun." Everything that follows is subordinate to that, and it will largely be ignored. The primary purpose of this effort appears to be to get authority figures in kids' lives to tell them that "Gambling is fun." A better message to present to the kids would be "Gambling is dangerous, even though some people can do it without being seriously harmed."