Dr. Timothy Fong said June 2026 clinical cases show a clear two-way link: young men use gambling to soothe emotional pain, and gambling then leaves them more depressed, anxious and isolated.
Mobile sports-betting apps are intensifying that cycle, he said, because young men are biologically prone to risk-taking and now carry “supercharged” gambling platforms on their phones.
Jonathan Cohen said many young men have never known sports without gambling ads, calling them a generation of “beta testers” exposed to betting as a normalized part of fandom.
Daniel Kaufmann said attitudes have shifted sharply since 2015: college students once sought help for gambling problems, but by 2025 some were asking for strategies to win more often.
The webinar framed the issue as a broader public-health challenge, with experts questioning not just responsible-gambling messaging but who can credibly reach young men before betting habits harden.