Senators Urge CDC to Study Youth Impact of Legal Sports Betting

A bipartisan group of U.S. senators is urging the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study how the rapid expansion of legalized sports betting is impacting American children, citing a lack of meaningful data on youth gambling behavior.

Senators Call on CDC to Study Youth Exposure to Sports Betting

In a letter sent January 14 to CDC Acting Director Jim O’Neal, five senators asked the agency to begin researching youth exposure to sports betting and to add gambling-related questions to an existing federal health survey. Sens. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) are leading the effort, joined by Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii).

The request comes as legal sports betting continues to spread nationwide, with online sportsbooks now available in dozens of states. Despite that growth, the lawmakers say policymakers and families have little concrete information about how often minors are gambling, or how they’re accessing betting platforms.

“Since the legalization of sports gambling in the United States, there has been limited research examining the extent to which minors are accessing sports betting platforms,” the senators wrote, adding that the few studies that do exist raise serious concerns.

At the center of the request is the CDC’s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), a nationwide survey conducted every two years that tracks health-related behaviors among middle and high school students. The senators want gambling, specifically sports betting, added to the survey to better measure participation rates, exposure, and potential harms.

Filling the Data Gap Before Considering New Regulations

The lawmakers pointed to a 2024 study showing that people who begin gambling before age 18 are 50% more likely to develop a gambling problem later in life. They also cited polling data indicating that one in six parents say they would not know if their child was gambling.

Beyond participation rates, the senators asked the CDC to gather data on how minors are placing bets, including whether they’re illegally accessing regulated sportsbooks, using offshore operators, or exploiting other workarounds. They also requested estimates on the resources needed to expand the survey and any existing research on the mental and behavioral health impacts of sports betting on youth.

Notably, the letter does not propose new regulations or restrictions. Instead, the senators framed the request as an effort to fill a major data gap before lawmakers consider additional safeguards.

The push reflects growing federal attention on sports betting as the industry expands. While the CDC has not publicly responded, the senators argue that better data is a necessary first step in understanding whether legalized sports gambling is creating unintended risks for children and teens, and what should be done next.

Alex Warren

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