Problem gambling growing among youth

GREEN BAY - Sunday evening the NCAA tournament field was set.

That means basketball fans started to fill out their brackets.

It also meant plenty of people will be gambling on those games, including youth.

Rick Kloth began filling out NCAA tournament brackets at age 16, making $10 wagers.

"I was on the basketball team of course, so you get involved in basketball, so it was just for fun, we got into brackets," said Kloth of East Troy.

Rose Gruber with the Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling said for many adults and youth, betting on basketball games can be just for fun.

However, she added problem gambling in adolescents is becoming more invasive.

"We see kids, they tend to sports betting, cards, internet gambling seem to be the activities they go for most often," said Gruber.

Gruber says two out of three teens in Wisconsin gamble, and adds NCAA tournament brackets can serve as a gateway to bigger betting issues.

"It certainly can because you get that adrenaline rush, I mean we all got to start somewhere I guess so, it certainly can," Gruber said.

"January 6, 1997," said Mark Wesenberg.

That day, Wesenberg went from a problem gambler to a recovering gambler.

He started out young, betting small amounts on cribbage and card games, and the habit grew.

"We would go to a high school basketball game and bet on the final outcome, who was going to win the game," said Wesenberg.

As time went on, from football to March Madness, he got so caught up in the action, it was all he could think about.

"It was starting to affect my job, it was starting to affect my life, my health, all I was thinking about was where I could get the money from to make my next bet," Wesenberg said.

Wesenberg eventually got into trouble with the law and served time in federal prison.

"From a prevention side of things, we promote that people engage in these activities for fun and not for money, and that if they do involve money, that they do so at a very small comfortable level," said Brown County District Attorney David Lasee.

Betting on sports, like the NCAA tournament games is illegal, but Lasee said it's not heavily enforced.

"When we're talking about small office pools, or pools among students for five or ten dollars, it's not something that's going to be a high enforcement priority in light of all the other issues that law enforcement and the courts have to deal with," Lasee said.

Even if they don't get in trouble with the law, Gruber saod youth have higher chances of becoming problem gamblers than adults, so they should be aware of the risks involved.

"Know that it can happen to you, so be prepared to make some healthy choices with it," Gruber said.

The Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling says there are some warning signs that indicate problem gambling in youth.

They include: Believing that betting is a fast and easy way to make money, an increase in arguments with loved ones about gambling, and unexplained absences from school and a drop in grades.