Blackjack, poker, sports betting: all games previously reserved for casinos are now showing up in the classroom. As gambling becomes easier and more common among student bodies with the availability of cell phones during school hours, so do questions about teenage mental health, addiction and legality.

Card games are very common to see during school hours. Breaks during class or a work-free compass period might lead students to pulling out a game of UNO or playing some hangman on the white board. More recently, however, it has been more common to see a traditional deck of cards being used for card games that are most often seen in the casino. Students playing and learning different variations of blackjack, poker, and 500 rummy during school hours. While there is generally no money involved, there is still something to be said about how early and how often these games are being played, and how that could translate into real addiction later in their life. The National Council on Problem Gambling reports that gamblers who started at a young age are almost twice as likely to develop a serious addiction. 

Even so, poker and blackjack are less of a problem as they are a possible annoyance to teachers. The significantly larger problem is the availability of gambling on the internet. Gambling through apps has become significantly more popular among high school students, especially through apps such as Fanduel, Draftkings, or Kalshi. One anonymous senior student claims that a majority of the money they make comes from sports betting through BetMGM, primarily from bets or parlays that are made in the app on their phone during school hours. Two other senior students describe their usage of the app Kalshi, which expands betting to outside of the sports world. One student explains that they “went on Kalshi and bet money on the ‘D4vd murder case,’” while the other confessed to gambling on the amount of time that the recent government shutdown would last.

Regardless of the type of bets being placed, the real question is how this is happening. A vast majority of high school students fail to meet the criteria of being allowed to gamble. Most states require that you must be at least 21 in order to place bets, or even make accounts, on these apps. One student even claimed that they used their dad’s social security number to gain access to sports betting through Fanduel. 

Regardless of legal issues, gambling during school hours might not put the odds in your favor. Classrooms meant for learning are turning into casinos, assignments are being overpowered by card games, and studying is being replaced by sports betting. Methods of quick fun or fast cash turn into questions of morality and legality. Should we be allowing gambling to seep into our school day? Is gambling truly a distracting factor for Lockport students?