GAMBLING & TECHNOLOGY
Gambling Before We Call It Gambling
By AG
OCTOBER 10, 2026 · 5 MIN READ
When was the last time you turned on the TV, watched a YouTube video, or did any online browsing without seeing an ad for gambling?
I understand if you need to pause and think, because for me, it feels like it’s been years.
Maybe the dinosaurs were the last ones who didn’t have to deal with gambling ads. But who knows what they were doing. Shit, I wouldn’t be shocked if they were betting on which one would get eaten next.
Gambling has become a normal part of society. But the part that concerns me most isn’t just how often we advertise it. It’s how early we can become familiar with the feeling of taking a chance on a reward.
Before we’re old enough to bet
We tend to associate gambling with being old enough to enter a casino or place a sports bet. But there isn’t one universal gambling age in the United States. Here in Ohio, sports betting requires you to be 21, while lottery tickets can be purchased at 18.
Either way, an age restriction doesn’t mean someone’s first experience will wait until their birthday.
For me, access to gambling didn’t always involve walking into a building and showing an ID. It happened online. When I was gambling with video-game skins, I wasn’t being asked to prove I was 21.
That’s why I have a hard time treating age limits as the whole answer. A rule on paper and what someone can actually access are two different things.
Another misconception is that gambling only comes in the form of slot machines, card tables, lottery tickets, and sports bets. I think some of the mechanics that make those things appealing can show up much earlier, in things we consider ordinary entertainment.
A lot of money for cardboard
Don’t get me wrong: I love Pokémon cards. But opening packs can feel like chasing a jackpot.
You buy a pack without knowing what’s inside. Maybe you get something ordinary. Maybe you pull a rare card worth serious money. That possibility is part of what makes opening it exciting.
And serious money isn’t an exaggeration. A Pikachu Illustrator card sold at auction for approximately $16.5 million in February 2026, including the buyer’s premium. It was originally a contest prize, though—not something you could pull from a regular pack.
That is a lot of money for a piece of cardboard with a cartoon character on it.
As someone who has collected Pokémon and sports cards, I know I can tell myself I’m doing it for fun. And sometimes I am. But I also know part of the excitement comes from the chance of getting something valuable.
Am I buying this because I enjoy collecting, or because I’m hoping this pack is the one?
I’m not saying collecting cards is inherently bad or that every kid who opens a pack will develop a gambling problem. But I do think it’s worth noticing when the enjoyment starts becoming a chase.
For me, that distinction matters.
When the prize is shiny pixels
Video games are another thing I love. But some use loot crates and other randomized rewards that let you spend money without knowing exactly what you’ll receive. The FTC has examined concerns about these systems, including their impact on younger players.
One of my favorite games was Counter-Strike, and I think it may have helped get me interested in gambling.
The weapons had different skins—basically different appearances—and some people were willing to pay ridiculous amounts for them. A lot of money for shiny pixels, if you really think about it.
I remember spending a few dollars to open a case, hoping I’d get something valuable. I could keep the skin or sell it on the market.
But it didn’t stop there.
Third-party sites let me use those skins to gamble. Something I’d received inside a video game could become a stake on an offshore website. In my experience, I didn’t have to prove I was 21 or go through the identity checks I associated with gambling.
I was playing a game I loved, but I was also getting familiar with putting something valuable on the line and hoping to come out ahead.
Scratch-offs with Grandpa, bingo with Gram
Those games weren’t my only introduction to taking a chance on a prize.
My grandpa loves scratch-offs, and every holiday was a chance for me to get in on the action. Apparently, holidays were the exception to kids not gambling. Yippee.
I don’t know if I wanted to do scratch-offs because my grandpa was my role model and hero, and I wanted to be just like him, or because I wanted to win five dollars. That used to be a lot of money when I was little. And before you start calling me old, I’m only 23.
Those are good memories with someone I love. I’m not here to blame him or anyone else. But looking back, I wonder whether something that felt so harmless was also introducing me to the excitement of possibly winning money.
A scratch-off here and there might not seem like a big deal. Still, maybe we should think twice before letting kids join in. I know the chance of winning was part of what made it exciting for me.
Even bingo with my grandma can get competitive. Me and Gram don’t mess around when we play bingo. We’re there to win. When we come one number away and lose, you’d think a natural disaster was happening.
It’s funny, and I love those moments with her. But when money is involved, I recognize that same anticipation: maybe this time we’ll win.
I’m not saying scratch-offs, bingo, cards, and video games all mean the same thing, or that those childhood experiences explain everything that happened later. But they make me question the idea that gambling only enters our lives when we’re old enough to place a bet.
Sometimes, we’ve been getting familiar with the feeling for years.
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