Helped Clients Recover Over $25 Billion. Since 1979.
Helped Clients Recover Over $25 Billion. Since 1979.
Casino-style games and sports betting apps are engineered to keep young people playing. If your family is carrying the financial and emotional weight of underage gambling, we represent families in lawsuits against the companies responsible.
100% Confidential | Free Consultation | No Obligation
Families choose our underage gambling attorney team because we are already in this fight. The Schenk Law Firm has an active lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York against the operators of Stake.com and Coinbase as of April 2026, one of the first cases of its kind. We are licensed to practice in California and file underage gambling lawsuit claims nationally with co-counsel.
Parents searching for an underage gambling lawsuit attorney usually need a team with experience against large corporations, and one already litigating these exact platforms. For an underage gambling attorney California families can reach directly, our San Diego office offers free, confidential case evaluations, and there is no fee unless your case results in a recovery.
The Schenk Law Firm, LLP attorney team, San Diego
Online platforms reach kids through two doors, sportsbook apps and casino-style sites. Each follows its own legal path, and an online gambling lawsuit can involve either or both. The two pages below break down how each type of claim works.
Sportsbook apps pull teens in through parlay promotions, sign-up bonuses, and push notifications timed to live games. If your child placed bets through a sports betting app before reaching legal age, your family may have a claim.
Learn About Underage Sportsbook LawsuitsCrypto casinos such as Stake.com accept deposits in cryptocurrency, which lets minors bypass the banking safeguards that stop underage card payments. Our complaint alleges a 13-year-old opened a Coinbase account and funded years of wagering through it.
Learn About Underage Casino LawsuitsThe scale of the problem is measurable.
~3/min
Teens see nearly 3 gambling ads per minute during live games.
Source: The Guardian
65%
of US adults report participating in at least one form of gambling before age 21.
Source: NCPG/Harris Poll, 2026
75%
of problem teen gamblers (ages 13-17) play online in states where gambling is illegal.
Source: JAMA Pediatrics, May 2025
6%
of teens who have gambled have developed pathological gambling.
Source: American Psychiatric Association, via the California Council on Problem Gambling
Whether it is sports betting or casino games, underage gambling is rising because the product now lives in a teenager's pocket. We fight back.
Parents and guardians can usually file, and young adults harmed as minors may bring their own claims. Understanding your family's underage gambling addiction legal rights starts with two questions: who was harmed, and which platform allowed it, and a gambling lawsuit can name more than one company. The question of who can sue for underage gambling addiction has a broader answer than most families expect.
An online casino lawsuit can target offshore crypto casinos like Stake.com, sweepstakes casinos, and unlicensed slot-style apps. An online gambling addiction lawsuit can also name sportsbook apps and the payment companies that moved the money. Platforms engineered to hook young users face similar claims to those brought against social networks, which is why families also work with a social media addiction lawyer on parallel cases.
Every case follows the same four-step path, and you pay nothing out of pocket at any stage. Here is what to expect from the day you contact us.
A gambling addiction lawsuit for a minor typically rests on three legal theories, reinforced by federal statutes. Every US state sets a minimum gambling age of 18 to 21 by statute, which no app design can waive. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) restricts collecting personal data from children under 13 (15 U.S.C. Sections 6501-6506). The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act (UIGEA), 31 U.S.C. Sections 5361-5367, bars gambling businesses from knowingly accepting payments connected to unlawful internet bets.
Platforms that accept deposits without meaningful age verification breach the most basic duty owed to the public. When identity checks happen only at withdrawal, or not at all, a minor can deposit and lose money before anyone asks who they are.
Loss-chasing mechanics, near-miss animations, streak bonuses, and constant notifications are design choices. Where those choices foreseeably addict young users, product liability principles apply to an app the same way they apply to any defective product.
Where an offshore operator, its payment rails, and its marketing network function as a coordinated enterprise, civil RICO and fraud-based theories may be available. The New York complaint against Stake.com describes exactly this kind of network of VPNs, mirror sites, and a covert Discord channel distributing pre-verified accounts that bypass age checks. Our underage crypto casino gambling page covers how these claims work in detail.
The Schenk Law Firm has an active lawsuit filed in the Supreme Court of the State of New York against the operators of Stake.com and Coinbase as of 2026 (John Doe v. Stake.com, et al.). The case has drawn national coverage, including the New York Law Journal. Benjamin Schenk, a trial lawyer with The Schenk Law Firm who leads the firm's underage gambling litigation, discussed America's teen gambling crisis in the New York Post.
Benjamin Schenk, on the case
What you do in the first days matters. These five steps protect you or your child, your family's underage gambling addiction legal rights, and your potential claim, and none of them requires a decision about filing.
If your child or someone in your family is struggling with gambling addiction, seek professional help immediately. The National Problem Gambling Helpline is available 24/7 by call or text at 1-800-MY-RESET.
Call now: (800) 378-0301, email gamblingaddiction@schenklawfirm.com, or start online through our contact page.
Start Your Free Case Evaluation100% confidential. No fee unless your case results in a recovery.
Parents and guardians of minors who accessed real-money gambling platforms and suffered financial or psychological harm can sue for underage gambling addiction. Young adults who were harmed as minors may also bring claims on their own behalf, subject to each state's filing deadlines.
A gambling addiction lawsuit is a civil claim against a gambling platform, and sometimes its payment processors and marketing partners, seeking compensation for financial losses, treatment costs, and psychological harm caused by the platform's conduct.
Yes. Every US state sets a minimum gambling age of 18 to 21, so underaged gambling (an alternate spelling of the same term) is illegal whether it happens in a casino, on a sportsbook app, or on a crypto site. Illegality does not stop the harm, but it strengthens a family's civil claim.
Possibly. The Schenk Law Firm is actively litigating against the operators of Stake.com and Coinbase and is reviewing new cases nationwide. A free case evaluation is the fastest way to find out whether your family qualifies.
These cases target offshore entities, crypto payment networks, and influencer marketing systems, which makes them harder than a typical injury claim. A gambling lawyer with mass-tort experience can trace the money and name every responsible party. Gambling lawyers already litigating against these platforms do not start from zero. If you need an underage gambling attorney California based, with national reach through co-counsel, start with a free evaluation.
For an underage gambling addiction lawsuit, gather account records, deposit and transaction histories, screenshots of the platform and its promotions, communications, and any medical or treatment records. Preserve everything, even if it feels incomplete. We help you fill the gaps.
Start with a free case evaluation. If your family qualifies, your underage gambling lawsuit attorney collects evidence, files the online gambling lawsuit in the proper court, and handles every stage through resolution. The four-step process above walks through exactly what happens.
Act on two tracks at once. Get your child support through a professional or a problem gambling helpline, and protect your family's legal position by preserving evidence and speaking with an underage gambling attorney before contacting any platform. Early underage gambling legal representation protects both tracks.
Licensed to practice in California. We file underage gambling lawsuits nationally with co-counsel. This website is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Prior results do not guarantee future outcomes. Attorney advertising.