Sports betting on the rise among MCHS seniors

Traducciones disponibles: Surgen las apuestas de deportes entre estudiantes de Maria Carrillo

Sam Mortimer, senior, shows the prize picks app as it opens on the loading screen (Photo: Jonathan Giron, The Puma Prensa)

By Jonathan Giron, news editor, and, Cohen Ferrari, sports editor

Online sports betting is currently illegal in California, but winning real money by playing fantasy sports is currently legal for anyone over 18 in the state. Many students at Maria Carrillo High School have taken advantage of this more accessible way to bet on sports directly from their devices–sometimes even in class. Despite the fact that California voters overwhelmingly shot down Proposition 27 in Nov. 2022, a bill that would have legalized online sports betting in the state, a company called PrizePicks has found a way around this by labeling themselves as a fantasy app with cash rewards for winners.

Betting on sports games attracts many fans to potentially make money and find more reasons to be deeply invested in the world of sports. Regardless, as our world has become more digitized, sports gambling has quickly traversed into the online medium where more people than ever are enticed to place bets on sites that are becoming more and more accessible to the average person.

The most popular of these is PrizePicks, an organization marketing itself as anything but a gambling app. “PrizePicks is the simplest, fastest, and most exciting daily fantasy sports game,” says the description for PrizePicks in the Apple App Store. It is a “legal alternative to gambling,” and is able to operate in states like California because players “are not placing any bets, but they are using money to enter different contests at the site,” says bettingdata.com, a site that provides general sports data and statistics for fantasy and sports betting. On PrizePicks you can only place money on individual player performances, not on teams or the outcome of games, which is how it is able to classify itself as a fantasy sports app.

With this loophole, anybody 18 and older can use PrizePicks to bet on sports, though there are also ways people defeat the age verification process. Online, prospective gamblers who are underage can easily do so by using their parents’ identification without any way for PrizePicks to know that a minor is running the account.

One 17-year-old senior at MCHS who demanded anonymity to avoid disciplinary consequences has taken advantage of this loophole, and says that he has only been rewarded for it. “I have been pretty successful so far. I started with $100 and at this point, I have won a total of $1200,” said the student. “My dad let me use his ID and told me if I lose all of my money I have to stop. So far I have not lost all of my money, so I’m going to keep betting,” he said

For those who are immersed in the world of sports and like to watch routinely, it can be easy to get into sports betting. “I got into sports betting and specifically PrizePicks because I heard people in my physics class talking about it last year and I was curious what it was since I’m an avid sports watcher. I thought I could make some money and have some fun too,” said the student. For him, betting has become part of his daily life. “There are periods in time where I bet every day, but if I lose a lot or am just not winning as much as I should be I take a break,” he said. With how easy it is for everyone to bet, sports entertainment and gambling are now becoming much more connected.

Although some sports bettors at MCHS have experienced good luck with their returns, some argue that another side of the PrizePicks hype is being uncovered. Eighteen-year-old MCHS senior Sam Mortimer has been using PrizePicks since September 2022 and says that he has lost around $350 while placing bets on the app. However, this loss has not deterred him from continuing to bet. “I don’t mind the losses, every loss is one step closer to a win. I still have $50 in my account so I’m gonna make it work,” said Mortimer. 

He explained that he mainly bets on sports like basketball or football, but if there are no sports going on he sometimes bets on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, or “CSGO,” which is a popular multiplayer first-person shooter video game. “I’m not good at betting on esports,” said Mortimer. “I don’t know anything about CSGO, but if there’s nothing else to bet on I’ll place a small one and let it ride.” 

Being able to bet on video games is another reason why PrizePicks has become popular with a younger audience. Mortimer says he does not have a gambling addiction and instead said, “Addicted to making money? Yes. When you gamble, you can only lose 100% of your money max but you can win infinite times your starting amount.” Mortimer feels that PrizePicks is a fun way to connect with others in the betting community and continues to be optimistic with what the app has to offer in the future. 

The future of PrizePicks is uncertain as some states like Washington, Missouri, Tennessee, and many others have begun to ban the app. However, for now, students at Carrillo are able to take advantage of the loopholes that allow PrizePicks to operate and continue to use the app freely regardless of age.

Although he is bypassing the PrizePicks age requirement, the 17-year-old gambler at MCHS mentioned earlier supports age requirements for sports betting. “I feel like most minors and even young adults will be dumb and reckless with their bets. I consider myself an exception because I know how to limit myself,” the student said. "I see way more people at Carrillo losing a lot of money before they actually win anything.”