Online Gambling Among Youth
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Gambling among young Thai people in Melbourne, Australia: an exploratory study. International Gambling Studies: Vol. Rates among high school age males are much lower but still significant with over 530,000 visiting gambling sites per month. While it appears that most of the online gambling reported by young people is devoted to card playing, it is also likely that some of it involves betting on other outcomes. Our online survey of more than 500 adolescents from 12 to 18 years of age also found that 60 percent of those teen gamblers do so online. Gambling has a growing presence on social networking sites. The authors said online betting is becoming popular among the youth due to ease of access, convenience and affordability. Instead of paying cash at a legitimate gambling outlet, teenagers use stored value credits to gamble online and get online credits for any winning bets.
The number of children with gambling problems has “quadrupled to more than 50,000 in just two years”, according to recent reports. The alarming figures come from the UK Gambling Commission’s latest annual statistics, which showed that the prevalence of problem gambling among children had risen to 1.7%, compared with 0.4% in 2016 and 0.9% in 2017.
To put these figures into context, problem gambling among teenagers overall has actually been declining in the UK over the past 20 years. A review of research revealed that in 2000, roughly 5% of teenagers met the criteria for problem gambling – by 2016, it was less than a tenth of that. The Gambling Commission’s report also suggests that the significant increase recorded in 2018 could be due to changes in the way survey data were collected – though the increase between 2016 and 2017 would not have been affected by this issue.
But as someone who has been researching teenage gambling for more than 30 years, there is still cause for concern. If there has been a genuine increase in problem gambling among teenagers over the past couple of years, I think one of the main factors will have been the growing presence of simulated gambling in video games.
Loot box lottery
Loot boxes, rates, cases, chests, bundles and card packs are, in essence, virtual games of chance which can be purchased in video games. Players use real money to buy these virtual items, which contain a chance selection of rewards. The likelihood of winning rare or powerful items is slim, so players are encouraged to spend more to increase their chances of success.
Many popular video games – including Overwatch, Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Star Wars Battlefront 2, FIFA Ultimate Team – now feature loot boxes or the like. The Gambling Commission’s report noted that 13% of teenagers aged 11 to 16 had played gambling-style games online, and that 31% had accessed loot boxes in a video game or app, to try to acquire in-game items.
Some might argue that buying loot boxes isn’t gambling, because the rewards only have value within the game. But this is not always the case: there are many independent websites (such as loot.farm and skins.cash), which allow players to trade in-game items or virtual currency, in exchange for real money.
What’s more, I have argued that the “prizes” won are – in financial terms – often a lot less valuable than the prices paid. In effect, it is a lottery as to which items might be won. Indeed, loot boxes have already been outlawed in Belgium, on the grounds that they breach gambling rules.
Taking a risk
A recent study found evidence for a link between the amount that video game players spent on loot boxes and the severity of problem gambling. In a large survey of 7,422 gamers, the more money a person spent buying loot boxes, the more likely they were to be a problem gambler. The paper concluded that the gambling-like features of loot boxes could be responsible for problem gambling severity, because the buying of other in-game items had no relationship with the level of problem gambling.
This evidence does not prove that loot boxes cause problem gambling – but it does suggest there is an association that needs to be explored further. It may be that problem gamblers are more attracted to buying loot boxes within video games. But there’s further evidence that simulated gambling – that is, gambling for free – within video games is a risk factor which increases the likelihood of teenagers gambling with real money and developing gambling problems.
For this reason, I argue that children should be banned from playing gambling simulations in video games. For example, in games such as Candy Crush and Runescape there are “wheel of fortune” games, which strongly resemble blackjack, where players have to pay to spin the wheel for a chance reward.
So it seems that problem gambling among young people has increased over the last couple of years – but not at the rate claimed in many recent news stories. However, the research suggests that loot boxes within video games could be a prime contributing factor to the increase in problem gambling among teenagers.
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In most countries it is illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to gamble. Although a few underage gamblers certainly manage to sneak into land-based casinos, they are generally quite good at stopping teens at the door.
With internet gambling however, there is little to stop a teen from placing bets online. In general, if they are able to get their hands on a credit card they can easily register at an online gambling website. The research tends to support the theory that it is simple for teens to gamble online and adolescents (especially boys) are often over-represented among online problem gamblers.
In this article TechAddiction examines the risk factors for teens with a online gambling problem, advice for parents of teenage gamblers, and offers a self-assessment questionnaire for teen gamblers.
Risk Factors For Teen Online Gambling
Private, unlimited access to the internet (i.e., in a bedroom)
Having immediate family members who gamble
Starting to gamble at an early age
Frequent use of 'free-to-play' areas on gambling websites
Experiencing a big win shortly after starting to play
Boredom / loneliness
Strong sensation - seeking tendencies
Impulsivity
Advice For Parents Of Teen Gamblers
Set a good example - if you do not want your children to gamble, do not do so yourself
Set (and enforce) clear rules about what kinds of sites are allowed and those that are not allowed
Install software that blocks access to online gambling websites (as well as other inappropriate online content)
Online Gambling Among Youth Articles
Talk to your child about the dangers of online gambling and why it is especially inappropriate for someone of his or her age
Keep track of which websites your child is visiting
Make sure that computers are in open common areas - and defiantly not in your child's bedroom
Learn much more about teen gambling problems and prevention at www.youthgambling.com
The Gambling Addiction Questionnaire For Teens
1. Do you often think about gambling when you are at school, at work, or with friends?
2. Are you spending more on gambling now than you were when you first started?
3. When you try to cut back on how often you gamble do you become angry, stressed, or easily irritated?
4. When you have problems with your friends, family, or school do you gamble to temporarily forget this problems?
5. When you lose money gambling, do you try to win it back?
6. Do you lie to your family and friends about how often you gamble or how much you have won or lost?
7. Do you spend on gambling that is intended for other things (e.g., lunch, clothing, transportation)?
8. Have you stolen money from family members and used it to gamble?
9. Have you stolen money from non-family members and used it to gamble?
10. Do you get into trouble with your parents or other family members because of your gambling?
11. Do you sometimes miss school or work because you would rather gamble?
12. Have you ever asked for help to cut back or quit gambling?
If you answered 'Yes' to any of the questions above, you may be in the process of developing a gambling problem…or may already have one.
If there is even a chance that you have lost control of your gambling habits (even if you do not want to believe this), you need to do something about it. There are many people and organizations that can help you if you contact them. Talk to your parents, a school counsellor, or someone else you trust.
Also, help is just a phone call away with these problem gambling hotlines in Canada, in the US, the UK, and around the world.
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Online Gambling Addiction - Risks, Facts, Signs, Stats, & Treatment
Page 2
Gambling Addiction Signs - Symptoms Of Online Gambling Addiction
Page 3
Why Online Gambling Is More Dangerous Than Casino Gambling
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Online Gambling Stats & Facts
Page 5
Online Gambling Addiction Treatment & Help
Page 6
Responsible Gambling - Ten Tips For Online Gamblers
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You May Have An Online Gambling Problem If You…
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The Popularity Of Online Gambling - Twelve Reasons
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Teenage Gambling Online - Risks, Assessment, & Advice
Online Gambling Among Youth Ages
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