Ulysses Fitzgerald, a high school senior in Smyrna, Tennessee, said he thought sports betting would be an easy way to make money. He said he’d seen ads and influencers promoting big wins.
“This guy won like $5,000 because he predicted that this player wouldn’t get this many points,” Fitzgerald said of one influencer’s post. “I was like, that seems like free money.”
After watching that “winner” on YouTube, Fitzgerald took $25 he received for his 18th birthday to place his first bet. That led to more bets with progressively larger sums, but big winnings never materialized. “I was losing way more than I was making,” he said.
Fitzgerald soon quit, and said he had worried he could become addicted.
Here’s a look at more stories on how to manage, grow and protect your money for the years ahead.
