Draft Kings and its main rivals, FanDuel, BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook, and Fanatics, all online casino and sportsbook operators, have been held responsible for the spike in problem gambling rates in the United States. Schools, according to a recent statement from a senior responsible gambling officer at the iGaming and online sports betting platform, should educate children about the dangers of gambling addiction.

Chief Responsible Gaming Officer for Draft Kings Lori E. Kalani talked with The Hill's Elizabeth Prann for an episode of "Raising America." Kalani recommended that high schools offer accountable gaming programs in their curriculum during the interview as a preventive action.

“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. 

Gaming Month: Responsible Gaming Month

As Problem Gambling Awareness Month, an annual campaign coordinated by the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), comes to a close, Kalani's statements are made.

The subject of this year's campaign, "Caring Communities, Stronger Futures," highlights the value of a community-based approach to problem gambling awareness and support.

The Washington D.C.-headquartered organisation, the only national nonprofit organization focused on reducing gambling-related harms, claims that gambling addiction is increasing.

According to a UC San Diego study from February 2025, it was agreed. Between 2018 and 2024, the school's researchers discovered a 23% increase in internet queries for gambling assistance.

The surge began at the same time that the US Supreme Court repealed PASPA, a federal statute that restricted single-game sports betting to Nevada, in May 2018.

Many U.S. states were able to bring the gaming industry into the mainstream and open up sports gambling thanks to this groundbreaking ruling.

“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.

States that permit online sports betting, including Ohio (67%), Pennsylvania (50%), Massachusetts (47%), and Michigan (37%), had substantially more Internet help searches.

Losses from Sports Betting

The American Gaming Association's statistics indicate that the sports betting sector earned about $17 billion in 2025, and bettors staked $166.94 million during that time.

The sports betting sector's all-time greatest annual mark was $16.96 billion in revenue, which was a 23% year-over-year increase.

With oddsmakers in New York taking $26 billion in bets and retaining $2.5 billion of the money, New York is the largest sports betting market.

The 2024-25 fiscal year, which concluded in March 2025, saw Draft Kings assist $8.6 billion in online wagers in New York. The platform generated a gross wagering revenue of $727.9 million.