By Joe Picozzi
As the youngest state senator in Pennsylvania, I have witnessed firsthand how gambling has moved from casinos and sports books onto our phones and into our everyday lives. What once required a trip to a physical location can now happen anywhere, at any time, with a few taps on a screen. That shift has created new opportunities for consumers, but it has also introduced serious risks that deserve the attention of lawmakers.
Last week, I joined colleagues from both parties and both chambers to establish the Problem Gambling Caucus: to bring lawmakers together around a shared responsibility to protect Pennsylvanians from the potential harms of online gambling, particularly young men and boys who are growing up in an increasingly digital world.
My generation has spent nearly our entire adult lives with smartphones in our pockets. We know how quickly an app can become part of a daily routine. We also understand that technology is not always designed simply to serve us. Apps can be built to capture our attention, encourage repeat engagement and make it harder to walk away. When those same design principles are applied to gambling, the consequences can extend far beyond screen time.
Consider how easy it is to move money into a gambling account. A person can transfer savings in seconds and, with one more tap, put that money at risk. Someone who downloads an app to place an occasional bet on the Philadelphia Eagles can find themselves drawn into an always-available online casino. The boundary between casual entertainment and repeated gambling can become increasingly difficult to recognize when the next opportunity to bet is always within reach.
We should be especially concerned when young people begin to see gambling not as a form of entertainment with financial risks, but as a reliable way to make money. In a generation facing financial pressures and constantly exposed to promises of quick success online, that misconception can be particularly damaging. Gambling is not a financial plan, and we should not allow digital platforms to blur that distinction.
The research on young men and boys makes this concern even more urgent. Gambling disorder diagnoses among men ages 18 to 29 have more than doubled over the past decade. Research from Common Sense Media, conducted in partnership with the American Institute for Boys and Men, found that 59% of adolescent boys first encountered gambling through content that appeared unprompted in their social media feeds, rather than through their friends. The same research found that 36% of boys ages 11 to 17 were already gambling.
These findings raise important questions about how gambling is introduced to young people, how frequently they encounter it and whether they understand the risks before participating. When gambling content appears alongside sports highlights, influencer videos and everyday social media posts, it can begin to seem like just another part of youth culture. Repeated exposure can make something risky feel routine.
Of course, we are not contending that every person who places a bet will develop a gambling problem. Nor are we arguing that Pennsylvania must abandon its legal, regulated gambling market. Adults should be able to make informed decisions about how they spend their money. But consumer choice is meaningful only when people have clear information, practical safeguards and a fair opportunity to make decisions without undue pressure. Convenience cannot mean the absence of guardrails.
Pennsylvania should examine common-sense reforms that make the online gambling experience safer and more transparent. Some potential policies include meaningful options for deposit and time limits, clear and accessible information about spending and losses, effective tools to help people pause or step away from gambling, and reasonable restrictions on marketing practices that can encourage excessive play.
These protections should be practical, enforceable and informed by evidence. They should help consumers understand their behavior before it becomes a crisis, rather than relying exclusively on intervention after significant financial or personal harm has occurred.
The Problem Gambling Caucus will provide a forum for lawmakers to examine these issues, hear from researchers and people affected by problem gambling, and consider policy options that reflect the realities of a digital marketplace. Our goal should be to identify where existing protections fall short and determine how Pennsylvania can respond in a way that is responsible, effective and fair to consumers.
Technology will continue to change how people spend, socialize and entertain themselves. Our laws must keep pace. A legal market can operate while still being subject to reasonable consumer protections. In fact, responsible regulation should be part of what makes a market sustainable.
Through the Problem Gambling Caucus, we have an opportunity to bring lawmakers together, examine the evidence and establish sensible protections for the people we represent.
Our phones should work for us, not make it harder for us to walk away. Now is the time to ensure that Pennsylvania’s approach to online gambling reflects that principle.
Joe Picozzi is a state Senator for the 5th District in Northeast Philadelphia