‘Grooming our kids’: CA lawmakers target sports betting apps, prediction markets
The ads are everywhere: on TV, YouTube, social media, even in the stadiums themselves.
Fantasy sports wagering platforms like PrizePicks, DraftKings and FanDuel are unavoidable for sports fans. A few California lawmakers say they’re especially ubiquitous for teen boys.
“My son doesn’t have to go looking for this predictive, predictive gambling content. It finds him, it finds his friends,” said Assemblymember Mia Bonta, D-Alameda, during a news conference Monday. “It’s dressed up to look like skill, like sports knowledge, like a fun way to earn a little money, not like gambling.”
A new law put forward by Bonta, Assemblymember Pilar Schiavo, D-Chatsworth, and Common Sense Media would prohibit fantasy sports wagering apps and prediction market apps from advertising specifically to minors or allowing them to use their services. Lawmakers say these companies are normalizing gambling and sports betting, which is illegal in California.
Predictive markets like Kalshi and Polymarket, where users can bet on sports, politics, cultural events and more, have exploded in popularity in recent years. Most apps have questions requesting users’ ages, and some use specialized identification technology, but proponents say children are getting around these barriers.
“You can call it whatever you want, but when people are risking real money on outcomes of events, that’s gambling,” said Schiavo. “These multi-billion dollar corporations are, in fact, grooming our kids for to be gamblers for life.”
A July 2025 survey of 1,017 boys conducted by Common Sense Media found 12% of respondents ages 11-17 said they participate in sports-related gambling, and more report gambling within online games.
Common Sense CEO James Steyer said he was “very optimistic” the group would be able to pass the legislation, despite what he bet would be strong, and well-financed, opposition.
“They will lobby, lobby, lobby, and do every technique they know up in Sacramento to block this legislation.”
The proposed bill comes as the future of fantasy sports betting in California remains unclear. In July, Bonta’s husband, Attorney General Rob Bonta, issued a legal opinion that online fantasy sports betting is illegal in California, since it violates the state’s laws against online sports gambling. The AG’s office told news outlet KCRA that it expected companies to come into compliance with the law, but little has changed in the state since the opinion was issued.
