'We are broken': Inside one family's fight against gambling addiction
Source: ESPN ↗
Amit, a 20‑year‑old honors student who arrived at the University of Cincinnati in the fall of 2023 with ambitions of becoming an engineer, fell into a gambling addiction that began with a college poker game and quickly spiraled into a crisis. Within two years he lost roughly 20 pounds, his appearance grew disheveled, and his academic performance collapsed as he flunked classes, dropped out of others and squandered the rent money his parents sent him. By spring 2025, three weeks before finals, Amit could no longer stay on campus and returned home, telling his mother, “I’m glad you got me,” a plea that left her, a pediatrician, helpless to address her son’s hidden problem.
Amit’s story reflects a broader surge in gambling among young adults, a trend experts say is becoming entrenched in American society. A 2025 Common Sense Media survey found that more than one‑third of 11‑ to 17‑year‑olds had gambled in the past year, with one in eight betting on sports, while a 2023 NCAA survey reported that 51 % of women and two‑thirds of men aged 18‑22 had placed sports bets. College students encounter gambling through sportsbook apps, daily‑fantasy sites, offshore bookmakers and the rapidly growing prediction‑market sector, often bypassing age restrictions. Dr. James Borchers, chief medical officer for the Big Ten, warned that gambling now ranks alongside alcohol as a top campus concern, noting its regularity and potential to spiral out of control.
The fallout extends beyond individual families to institutions and policymakers. In Ohio, where the legal betting age is 21, sportsbooks recorded 469 under‑age betting accounts in 2024, including three with buy‑ins over $80,000, according to the Ohio Casino Control Commission. Parents, like Kim Freudenberg who founded the support group Parents Standing Together after her son’s addiction, are increasingly caught off guard until debt and mental‑health damage surface. Universities are beginning to respond: TCU now asks general gambling questions during mental‑health screenings, and the Big Ten emphasizes proactive education, though it acknowledges that awareness alone cannot eliminate the problem. Legislative efforts are also emerging; New York lawmakers are debating mandatory geolocation to block campus betting, while Connecticut proposes requiring public universities to deliver at least one on‑campus problem‑gambling program each academic year, signaling a growing recognition that the crisis demands coordinated, systemic action.
⚡ Effects Interpreter
🌍World Economylow impact
What this means for you
- ▶Trade and investment between countries could shift a touch if things escalate.
- ▶The wider trading system tends to absorb shocks like this slowly.
🏙️Local Economylow impact
What this means for you
- ▶The knock-on for local trade is usually gradual rather than sudden.
- ▶Local wages and hours worked might bend slightly with the wider trend.
🏦Rates & Bankslow impact
What this means for you
- ▶Lenders' appetite for risk can shift subtly when stories like this break.
- ▶Anyone close to remortgaging might want to lock in a rate sooner rather than further down the line.
❤️Healthmedium impact
What this means for you
- ▶Unsettling news can weigh on sleep and mood, so peace of mind matters.
- ▶Taking a break from the headlines can do more good than scrolling on.
💷Wealthmedium impact
What this means for you
- ▶Keeping perspective on your timeline usually beats reacting to any single story.
- ▶Checking in on your finances now and then is good practice regardless of headlines.
🏠Housinglow impact
What this means for you
- ▶Rents and home values may drift over the coming months.
- ▶Local estate agents might see a shift in enquiries as word spreads.
🌍 Effects for your country
The U.S.'s central bank rate currently stands at 3.75%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The U.S.'s economy is growing at 2.3% with inflation at 3.2%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the U.S.'s own central bank rate closely. With the U.S.'s unemployment at 4.4%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the U.S. depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
The UK's central bank rate currently stands at 3.75%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The UK's economy is growing at 0.8% with inflation at 3.2%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the UK's own central bank rate closely. With the UK's unemployment at 5.6%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the UK depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
France's central bank rate currently stands at 2%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. France's economy is growing at 0.9% with inflation at 1.8%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track France's own central bank rate closely. With France's unemployment at 7.9%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is already under strain. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in France depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
Romania's central bank rate currently stands at 6.5%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. Romania's economy is growing at 0.7% with inflation at 7.8%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track Romania's own central bank rate closely. With Romania's unemployment at 6%, personal-finance effects like this land on a labour market that is currently fairly stable. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in Romania depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.
The UAE's central bank rate currently stands at 3.65%, so a global rates move like this could feed through to local borrowing costs. The UAE's economy is growing at 3.1% with inflation at 2.5%, the backdrop this story's effects play out against locally. Housing-market effects like this are usually felt most where mortgage rates track the UAE's own central bank rate closely. Health-system effects are harder to localise from economic indicators alone — the real impact in the UAE depends more on local healthcare capacity than the figures above.