Keeping the Odds In Your Favor: Problem Gambling PreventionKeeping the Odds In Your Favor: Problem Gambling Prevention
Scope of Practice
Saul Malek shares how childhood fantasy sports grew into serious gambling problems and how he now speaks to students about realistic, non‑shaming prevention. The conversation highlights teen vulnerability, the limits of fear-based messaging, and practical ways to talk about gambling harm and recovery.
35:24•3 Sept 2026
Keeping the Odds in Your Favour: Saul Malek on Problem Gambling and Young People
Episode Overview
- Seemingly small, low-stakes activities like fantasy leagues can gradually progress into harmful gambling behaviour.
- Fear-based messages about gambling and substances often fail with teenagers, who see that dramatic warnings rarely match what they observe.
- Providing realistic information and relatable stories helps young people make more informed choices rather than simply being told to abstain.
- Gambling-related harms frequently appear alongside other issues such as impulsivity, ADHD and difficulty finding a sense of belonging.
- Education should include both warning signs of harm and alternative ways to meet needs for competition, community and stress relief.
“Harmful behaviour does not start so harmful. It does not appear so harmful. The addicted gambler started as the $10 fantasy baseball player.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety? This conversation on Scope of Practice zooms in on gambling rather than alcohol, but the themes of addiction, recovery, and honest prevention will sound very familiar to anyone interested in behaviour change. Nationally recognised gambling prevention speaker Saul Malek shares how a seemingly harmless fantasy baseball league in Year 6 slowly morphed into compulsive sports betting, mounting debt, and repeated relapses.
He talks about being the kid with ADHD who found his tribe through sport, then watched that shared passion slide into “action” that, as he puts it, became part of his identity: checking line-ups at dinner, placing bets before bed, even seeing gambling as his “thing” at 19. Saul and host Jeffrey unpack why scare tactics fall flat with teenagers.
As Jeffrey notes, young people quickly spot the gap between “you’ll go to jail or die” messages and the reality they see around them. Saul sums it up through his own work with students: “Harmful behaviour does not start so harmful. It does not appear so harmful.
The addicted gambler started as the $10 fantasy baseball player.” You’ll hear relatable examples of microtransactions, fantasy sports, and gaming that blur the line between “just for fun” and risk, plus why teens’ developing brains and love of sport make them especially vulnerable. Saul explains his “pro-education, not anti-gambling” approach, focusing on warning signs, coping skills, and healthier outlets for competition and connection.
Anyone working with young people – parents, teachers, coaches, youth workers and recovery professionals – will find practical language and real stories they can take straight into classrooms, living rooms, and support groups. It might leave you asking: how early should we be having these conversations about gambling, and what habits are we quietly normalising at home?
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