As California voters decide between Xavier Becerra and Steve Hilton for governor, one growing public health concern needs more focus from both: the surge in underage online gambling. Easy access through phones and apps creates risks that could spiral if left unchecked. AB 2617, the Protecting Kids from Online Gambling Act, provides a practical starting point. Advancing, refining, and enforcing solid measures here should be a priority regardless of who wins.
AB 2617 and the need for better age verification
Sponsored by Assemblymembers Pilar Schiavo and Mia Bonta (with support from groups like Common Sense Media), the bill aims to close loopholes. It would prohibit platforms from offering gambling, sports-betting-style wagering, or predictive markets to those under 21. It restricts marketing to minors and requires real age assurance before betting can occur. The legislation is still moving through committees, making the next governor’s role in implementation and resources critical.
Today’s age verification is often too weak. Current systems are often too easy to beat. Many platforms rely on simple self-attestation, a checkbox where users claim they’re old enough. Kids bypass this with fake birthdates, borrowed accounts, or VPNs. Even when ID uploads are requested (usually for withdrawals), enforcement is spotty and not foolproof. Stronger approaches include:
- Government-issued ID and biometric checks: Facial recognition with liveness detection (to prevent photos or deepfakes) cross-checked against records.
- Ongoing monitoring: Not just at signup, but behavioral flags or periodic reverification.
- Geolocation and device-level tools: Combined with parental controls or school-issued device restrictions.
- Third-party verification services: Similar to banking or alcohol delivery standards but tailored for gambling.
AB 2617 pushes in this direction by requiring real age assurance. Refinements could include clear standards for what counts as “robust” verification, funding for tech development, and penalties for non-compliance. Offshore sites remain a challenge, since they operate outside U.S. rules, but states can pursue cease-and-desist actions, payment processor blocks, and app store removals.
Prevention strategies and learning from experience
Effective prevention needs multiple layers:
- Enforcement: More resources for monitoring platforms, targeting offshore operators through legal actions, payment restrictions, and public compliance reporting.
- Education: Programs in schools and for parents on spotting risks, such as secrecy about money or devices, mood swings, or sudden financial issues.
- Support: Expanded counseling for affected youth and families, treating this as a behavioral addiction tied to anxiety, depression, and household stress.
- Industry rules: Requirements for better design standards and data on underage attempts.
This has been described as echoing past failures. Developing brains are highly sensitive to reward but weak on impulse control, making early exposure a setup for long-term addiction. Families bear financial hits, emotional strain, and physical health effects from chronic stress. It’s reminiscent of how the opioid crisis unfolded: rapid expansion, inadequate safeguards, hidden harms building quietly, and society left with the costly consequences. Focusing on this now, through practical age checks, accountability, and support, can head off a similar generation-scale crisis before it deepens. Offshore betting sites and slick apps thrive on weak or fake age checks, which are just a self-attested checkbox that any kid can bypass with a fake birthday or borrowed credentials. No real biometrics, ID verification, or consistent enforcement. These platforms use the same dopamine hooks as addictive games or drugs: near-misses, instant rewards, and constant availability right on a teenager’s phone.
The human cost is brutal. Teens, whose brains are still developing impulse control into their mid-20s, are especially vulnerable. Early exposure wires reward pathways in ways that raise lifetime addiction risk dramatically. We’re seeing higher rates of anxiety, depression, falling grades, debt that drains family savings, and even suicidal thoughts. Parents end up in doctors’ offices with their own stress-related physical problems: chronic pain flares, insomnia, and migraines. One parent’s nightmare becomes the whole household’s crisis.
This isn’t hypothetical. Surveys show many young people gamble before 21, with sports betting and online casino-style games surging among Gen Z. Problem gambling rates among youth run several times higher than in adults. Offshore operators dodge U.S. rules, while even domestic platforms sometimes treat safeguards as optional. It’s the opioid crisis playbook all over again: rapid industry growth, weak regulation, hidden harms landing hardest on families, and society picking up the tab for treatment and lost potential.
Regulators and advocates argue that this knowingly exposes teens, whose brains are highly reward-sensitive to addiction. This fuels calls for stronger federal action and supports watchdog efforts documenting harms.
The U.K. offers a useful comparison, as it has a mature regulated online gambling market under the Gambling Commission. Key elements relevant to California:
- Strict age rules: Minimum legal age is 18 for most gambling. Operators must verify age and identity before allowing deposits, real-money gambling, free bets or bonuses, or even free-to-play versions. Self-attestation alone is insufficient, since reliable electronic checks, documents, and databases are required.
- Upfront verification: Since 2019 updates, checks happen at registration and onboarding. No grace periods. This reduces the window for underage access.
- Ongoing protections: Operators need policies to prevent underage play, including warnings, self-exclusion tools, and monitoring. Marketing restrictions limit appeals to minors (no ads on child-targeted sites or games). Violations can lead to heavy fines or license loss.
- Outcomes and challenges: The U.K. system is stricter than many U.S. states on verification, but still faces issues with offshore sites and evolving tech. It emphasizes harm reduction, research into addiction, and customer protection alongside a licensed industry.
California could adapt to these: stronger upfront biometrics and ID requirements, clear marketing bans for minors, and a dedicated regulator focus on youth protection, while learning from U.K. enforcement challenges around offshore operators. Steve Hilton’s U.K. background could bring practical insights into balancing regulation with a thriving (but responsible) sector.
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A bipartisan opportunity for leadership
Xavier Becerra draws on his experience as attorney general in enforcing gambling laws and consumer protections, bringing more direct executive experience here. His record on consumer protections could translate into strong support for AB 2617’s framework, even with noted industry-adjacent donations, such as those from Kalshi.
Steve Hilton highlights cutting bureaucracy, reducing waste, and family stability. His “Family First” agenda highlights stable homes and parental empowerment, the values that support shielding kids from predatory platforms. A Hilton approach might prioritize efficient, targeted enforcement and outcome-focused rules over heavy new regulations, drawing on U.K.-style lessons for pragmatic implementation.
Neither candidate has made this a signature issue, but the next governor can show foresight by treating underage gambling as the preventable public health challenge it is. Advancing AB 2617 with smart, evidence-based elements, with robust verification, enforcement focus, education, and family resources, would demonstrate leadership that puts kids and long-term stability first. This isn’t a partisan issue. Protecting children from engineered addiction transcends party lines. The winner should commit to data-driven strategies: strong but practical age verification, accountability for platforms that fail, and support for families. Personal responsibility matters, but it can’t carry the load when algorithms are designed to exploit vulnerability.
We’ve seen what happens when we wait too long. The hidden health crisis of teenage online gambling is no longer hidden. Doctors are treating the fallout in exam rooms across California. Parents are desperate for help. The next governor has a straightforward job: Lead on this, get AB 2617 across the finish line effectively, and prevent a generation-level disaster.
California kids, along with their families, deserve a government that draws a hard line against industries profiting off developing brains. This is one fight worth winning early. Let’s make it a priority before the damage becomes irreversible.
Kayvan Haddadan is a physiatrist and pain management physician, and president and medical director of Advanced Pain Diagnostic & Solutions, a multidisciplinary pain management practice in California that he founded in 2012. A physician and surgeon licensed by the Medical Board of California, he is double board-certified in pain medicine and physical medicine and rehabilitation. He is also certified in controlled substance registration through the DEA and serves as a qualified medical examiner through California’s Department of Industrial Relations Division of Workers’ Compensation.
Dr. Haddadan earned his Bachelor of Science degree from the College of Alborz in Tehran, Iran, and his medical degree from Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. He later received his Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates certification in Philadelphia, completed an internship in medical surgery at Loyola University Medical Center’s Stritch School of Medicine in Illinois, and finished his residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at the same institution. He completed his fellowship in pain medicine at California Pacific Medical Center’s Pacific Pain Treatment Center and also trained in medical acupuncture for physicians at the University of California, Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine.
Dr. Haddadan has contributed to 29 research publications across multiple specialties, including pain management, cardiology, pulmonology, endocrinology, gastroenterology, and infectious disease. His work has examined topics such as hyperlipidemia in high cardiovascular risk patients, hyperuricemia and gout management, type 2 diabetes and hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma therapies, influenza treatment, irritable bowel syndrome, and opioid related complications in chronic pain care. His research has also included clinical outcome studies in spinal cord stimulation and award-winning presentations on neuropathic pain management and neuromuscular disorders.
