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If it passes, California will be the first state to explicitly regulate predictive gambling with children in mind. Photo: iStock
There’s a new front opening in the fight over kids and digital harm, and this time, it’s online gambling.
Nonprofit Common Sense Media is sponsoring a California bill, AB 2617, the Protecting Our Kids from Gambling Addiction Act. The legislation would prohibit online gambling operators and predictive betting platforms from advertising to minors, and from allowing them to place bets.
If it passes, California will be the first state to explicitly regulate predictive gambling with children in mind, and to give families the ability to take legal action against platforms that violate the rules.
What’s driving the push
Predictive gambling platforms, including those operated by companies like DraftKings and FanDuel, allow users to wager real money on the outcomes of sports and other events. While sports betting is illegal in California, these platforms are still reaching users in the state, often through digital channels heavily used by teens.
According to new research from Common Sense Media, exposure is widespread, and often passive. More than one-third of boys ages 11–17 reported gambling in the past year. Nearly 60 percent say gambling content appeared in their feeds without them seeking it out, and a similar share reported seeing ads on YouTube and social media.
Common Sense Media CEO James P. Steyer compared the current moment to earlier waves of youth-targeted industries. “Predictive gambling companies are running the Big Tobacco playbook,” he says. “They are targeting kids, hooking them young and betting they’ll become lifelong customers.”
More than one-third of boys ages 11–17 reported gambling in the past year.
What the bill would do
AB 2617 focuses on both access and exposure by:
- Blocking minors from gambling on predictive platforms
- Banning advertising to minors, including when platforms should reasonably know a user is underage
- Requiring age verification before allowing bets or serving gambling-related ads
- Allowing enforcement by the state attorney general, and giving families the right to sue
Why it matters
The bill reflects a growing concern that gambling is quietly becoming embedded in the same digital ecosystems kids already navigate, including social media, video platforms and mobile apps, without clear guardrails. In many cases, kids aren’t actively seeking out gambling, it’s finding them.
Gambling is becoming more ambient, more digital and more intertwined with kids’ everyday online life. This legislation is an early attempt to draw a line before it becomes normalized for a new generation.
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