Did not go over well
Well-known sports business analyst and contributor to The Action Network, Darren Rovell, posted a tweet about his 11-year-old son’s desire to gamble that has raised eyebrows on social media. On Monday, Rovell said that his child told him that he wanted to bet on sports and instead of forbidding him like most parents would do, Rovell helped him set up an account with a play-money sports wagering app.
teach his son how to bet responsibly
In both the original tweet and in his answers to replies, Rovell framed his decision as a way to teach his son how to bet responsibly and to keep tabs on his activity.
“I’ve been monitoring his ‘bets’ and talking to him about his ‘losses.’” Rovell said.
He also included a screenshot of a ridiculous betting market from the app that would return five times the person’s bet if Giannis Antetokounmpo “scratch[ed] his nuts” on camera during the Milwaukee Bucks’ MLK Day game at the Atlanta Hawks. The photo of Giannis that went along with the bet included a vulgar joke he made several years ago, clearly not appropriate for an 11-year-old.
The vast majority of replies to Rovell’s post admonished him for not only letting his kid bet on sports (albeit for fake money) but also helping him do so. One poster wrote, “My kid wants to drink beer, so I’ve been giving her Athletic n/a [non-alcoholic] beer so she can learn to binge drink like a champ in high school.”
Other respondents said Rovell’s post was “soul-crushing” and “embarrassing,” and called him a “moron” and a “shitty parent.”
App creator speaks up
That free-to-play app is Stadium Live. Its CEO, Kevin Kim, entered the chat, defending Rovell and his app. Kim said that he and his team have never been interested in “building a gambling product,” calling Stadium Live a “social, competitive, and entertainment-first” app.
“Gambling didn’t start with Stadium Live,” Kim said, “it’s already heavily embedded in sports. Live broadcasts, podcasts, league partnerships, ads… betting is everywhere. That is the reality and you can’t argue with that.”
He took umbrage with the criticism of his company, considering people are bombarded with ads for real-money sportsbooks on every sports television show and during every sports broadcast in the US.
“If fans (especially younger ones) are going to be exposed to betting culture anyway, a free, consequence-less sandbox that separates prediction from money is objectively safer than pretending it doesn’t exist and letting real money be the first teacher,” Kim added.
It is possible to say no
As a parent myself, I completely understand where both Rovell and Kim are coming from, but I have to disagree. My kids are 17 and 19 and when they were very young, my wife and I were diligent in what they could and could not do on the internet. This includes not letting them gamble, even if it’s just for funny money.
My 19-year-old has never been interested in gambling and she’s off at college now, anyway, so there isn’t much I can do about what she does online except continue to educate her when appropriate. My 17-year-old has always been the computer and internet kid, the one who likes to go down rabbit holes. And, of course, since I have been in the gambling industry his entire life, he has always been at least a little curious about it.
helping your little kid start gambling online, even if it’s for play money, is an entirely different thing
But where Rovell and I differ is that while I have shown my kid what, say, poker is all about, I have also told him not to gamble. Playing a little poker or blackjack at home with your family is fun, helping your little kid start gambling online, even if it’s for play money, is an entirely different thing.
Fortunately, my boy understands the dangers of gambling and has lamented that everywhere he looks at school, he sees kids betting on their phones. When he is older and responsible for his own life, he can make his own decisions. I found no need to allow gambling to shape his elementary-school brain.
