USA Today Report Highlights Widespread Underage Gambling on Legal Sportsbooks
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The rapid expansion of legalized sports betting across the United States has brought record-breaking handle and revenue figures. New reporting, however, suggests it has also opened the door to a growing and largely unpunished problem: underage gambling.
USA Today obtained and reviewed hundreds of suspected fraud reports filed with state regulators, revealing how frequently minors are accessing legal sportsbooks despite age restrictions. The reports, which sportsbooks are required to submit in many states, document teenagers (and in some cases, much younger children) placing illegal wagers through accounts tied to parents, relatives, or stolen identities.
How Minors Are Gaining Access To Gambling
According to the fraud reports reviewed by USA Today, underage gambling typically falls into a few clear patterns:
- Shared or borrowed accounts: Minors use a parent or relative’s sportsbook account, with or without their knowledge. This is the most common scenario.
- Identity misuse: Underage users create accounts using stolen personal information, including deceased individuals.
- Accidental access: In rare cases, parents report young children placing bets through already logged-in accounts.
In most cases, sportsbooks ban the account and notify state regulators. Rarely do the reports lead to criminal charges or long-term consequences for the bettor.
The scope of the problem remains difficult to measure. Reporting requirements vary by state, and some regulators consider the data confidential. Where numbers are available, they show a clear upward trend.
In Tennessee, sportsbooks reported 105 cases of underage account usage in 2024, a number that more than quadrupled the following year. Iowa sent dozens of reports to its Division of Criminal Investigation, though it is unclear whether any resulted in formal charges.
Massachusetts offers one of the most transparent looks at the issue. There, DraftKings reported stopping more than 4,800 underage registration attempts in a single year, while FanDuel reported hundreds of account suspensions tied to minors. Regulators acknowledged the data likely represents only a portion of total attempts.
A Booming Industry With Blurred Lines
Since the Supreme Court’s 2018 decision allowing states to legalize sports betting, the industry has exploded. Americans wagered an estimated $160 billion on sports in 2025, generating roughly $16 billion in revenue.
Young men ages 21 to 34 represent the most valuable segment of that market, accounting for more than half of all wagers on many platforms. Critics argue that aggressive marketing aimed at this group inevitably reaches high school and college-aged audiences, further blurring the line between sports fandom and betting.
That concern is reflected in recent research. A survey by Common Sense Media found that more than one-third of boys ages 11 to 17 reported gambling in the past year, with most encountering betting ads through social media and streaming platforms.
Sportsbook operators maintain they are complying with all regulations and employing advanced age-verification systems. DraftKings and FanDuel both point to their Know Your Customer protocols and monitoring tools designed to flag suspicious activity.
Lawmakers, however, are beginning to push back. In New York, State Senator Andrew Gounardes has introduced legislation aimed at strengthening age verification and giving parents tools to prevent minors from misusing their personal information.
As legal sports betting continues to grow, regulators face a familiar challenge. They must balance consumer protection with an industry generating billions in tax revenue. For now, the steady stream of underage fraud reports suggests the system remains far from airtight.
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