{"id":585569,"date":"2026-07-14T17:42:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T17:42:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/585569\/"},"modified":"2026-07-14T17:42:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T17:42:21","slug":"la-therapists-are-seeing-more-young-patients-with-gambling-problems-they-blame-kalshi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/585569\/","title":{"rendered":"LA therapists are seeing more young patients with gambling problems. They blame Kalshi"},"content":{"rendered":"

With a week left in the World Cup, fans may have noticed ads with soccer stars telling them they could win tickets to the final using their sports knowledge.<\/a><\/p>\n

Those ads are for Kalshi, a prediction market that accounts for 90% of the U.S. market share<\/a>. Right now, $1.1 billion worth of contracts are trading<\/a> on who will win the World Cup. And it\u2019s not just sports \u2014 Kalshi contracts can get as fine-grained as the exact margin of victory between Spencer Pratt and Nithya Raman in the L.A. mayoral primary<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Jack Such, a spokesperson for the company, told LAist that the platform\u2019s trading volume has skyrocketed over the past three months.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s just been going up and up and up,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Keep up with LAist.<\/p>\n

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Sports betting is illegal in California, but prediction markets like Kalshi aren\u2019t. That\u2019s because users buy and sell contracts among themselves, instead of placing bets against a house. The distinction allows platforms to operate under federal rules for financial exchanges<\/a>, rather than state gambling laws.<\/p>\n

Although other states have taken prediction markets to court, saying they should be held to state regulation, California hasn\u2019t initiated legal action of its own.<\/p>\n

Some L.A. gambling addiction clinicians say that they\u2019re already seeing the consequences of what they call unregulated betting, especially among young people.<\/p>\n

An uptick in patients dealing with gambling addiction<\/b><\/p>\n

Dan Field, a licensed social worker and the clinical director of Westside Gambling Treatment in L.A., said he\u2019s seeing \u201ca lot more young sports bettors who are just going straight to Kalshi \u2026 and getting sucked in very easily.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of Field\u2019s patients moved to California hoping the state\u2019s sports betting laws would help him manage his recovery from gambling addiction.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor almost two years, he was largely gambling free, and when Kalshi hit, he picked up right where he left off,\u201d Field told LAist.<\/p>\n

Dr. Timothy Fong, an addiction psychiatrist and co-director of UCLA\u2019s Gambling Studies program, said that as prediction markets have taken off, his program has \u201cdefinitely seen an increase in the number of folks coming into treatment.\u201d<\/p>\n

He told LAist that for many now seeking help, online prediction markets were their first experience with gambling behavior. They\u2019d never set foot in a brick-and-mortar casino, and began using prediction markets because of their interest in sports and investing, not betting.<\/p>\n

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Why some are drawn to prediction markets<\/b><\/p>\n

Yisroel Solomon, 32, said he began sports betting when he was 22 when he was living in New York. After he relocated to California, he told LAist that he started using prediction markets because they were the primary legal option.<\/p>\n

But Solomon said prediction markets have the capacity to suck users in far beyond what traditional sports books, or even other apps, can do.<\/p>\n

Because prices update almost instantaneously, in response to real-time information, “that gives an extra sense of dopamine, extra fear of missing out, extra sense of chasing,\u201d he told LAist.<\/p>\n

Field, the clinical director, noted that the constant price checking that comes with using prediction markets is \u201cincredibly attention-grabbing and addictive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jacob Hofflich, a San Diego resident and sophomore at the University of Michigan, began using Kalshi when he turned 18. He said the platform’s visual design makes it hard to look away. Flashing green and red lines, and a running log of which bets are being placed, make the app appear \u201clike the stock market,\u201d he told LAist.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s enticing you to get in on the action,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always new opportunities to bet. [With] sportsbooks, you\u2019re confined to just sports\u2026 But with futures markets, the market\u2019s open 24\/7,\u201d Solomon said.<\/p>\n

Both Solomon and Hofflich say they have stopped gambling, with Hofflich adding that he has been working with Field.<\/p>\n

What does this have to do with young people?<\/b><\/p>\n

Prediction markets are available to users as young as 18 because the platforms don\u2019t have to follow the minimum gambling age set by the state.<\/p>\n

According to some experts, Kalshi is growing in popularity among 18- to 20-year-old demographic because of what they call aggressive advertising.<\/p>\n

\u201cI’ve seen some of the ads, and there are scenarios where people are partying with friends in a bar in a college environment and betting,\u201d Field said. He explained that this kind of advertising can help normalize using prediction markets and make the platforms seem less dangerous than they are to young people.<\/p>\n

Such, the Kalshi spokesperson, said the company’s ads do not target users by age and that users between 18 and 22 represent 3% of their platform’s volume. <\/p>\n

Deborah Buhaj, a gambling addiction therapist based in L.A., said that recently, she’s had parents reaching out to her who \u201csuddenly don\u2019t recognize their 22-year-old\u201d after they started using Kalshi.<\/p>\n

Some users are starting even younger.<\/p>\n

Fong, the co-director of UCLA\u2019s Gambling Studies, told LAist that he has patients under 18, who get around prediction markets ID checks by using their parents\u2019 credentials. He said he\u2019s working with a 14-year-old whose mother created a Kalshi account for him thinking it was a video game.<\/p>\n

Fong emphasized that although the platforms might appear harmless, allowing minors to use them is \u201cno different than giving them access to where the gun is or where prescription drugs are or where the cannabis is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kalshi’s guidance for parents<\/p>\n

Here are some of the platform’s policies<\/a>: <\/p>\n