NYC-area boys using bar mitzvah money to gamble as sports betting addiction on the rise with teens

Saturday, October 18, 2025 3:30 PM
Image aggregated from New York Post.
  • United States
  • New York
  • Rikki Schlott, New York Post

Max’s friend group of high school boys in Manhattan throws an annual Super Bowl Party. But this year’s gathering was “a really sad moment,” the 17-year-old told The Post.

“It used to be for the experience, but this year it wasn’t,” said Max (at his parents’ request, his name has been changed). “It was everybody betting [on the game] … the theme of the party was essentially betting.”

That’s when, Max said, he realized sports betting was becoming an addiction among his friends.

“Kids take money out of savings accounts or bar mitzvah accounts for betting,” the senior at a private school in the city said.