Online gambling poses a special threat for children
by Frankie Vigil, Outpost staff
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Adam Sandler plays a 12-year-old gambler in the new movie "The Million Dollar Kid."
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With the emergence of online casinos and online gambling many wonder how to prevent underage gambling.
Some online casino sites ask for a birth date. Other sites require that users send in a copy of a license or birth certificate to prove legal age. However, because of the anonymity of the Internet, children could easily lie and fraudulently pose as their parents or some other adult and then gamble.
As online casinos try to prevent underage gambling, several recent studies show that children are more susceptible to Internet gaming and are likely to exploit it. Since the Internet is global the issue of online gambling and its potential effects on children are being examined around the world.
Recently a study in the United Kingdom showed that women and children felt safer gaming online than in other venues. Twenty two percent of the women surveyed said that they felt the Internet provided a safe, fun and anonymous way to gamble. Also 24 percent of the women surveyed felt more positive about gambling on the Internet than a casino and 12 percent of teenage girls agreed.
According to a recent study by the American Psychological Association, 4 to 6 percent of children aged 12 to 17 are pathological gamblers, while only 1 to 3 percent of adults are estimated to be problem gamblers.
Some in the study attribute this rise in gambling to a decade of promotion and glamorization of commercial gambling and increased availability mainly through the Internet.
Children with compulsive gambler parents are far more likely to have issues with gambling themselves. According to the survey 75 percent of problem gamblers' children reported that their first gambling experience occurred before the age of 11.
Local counselor Denise Rossi sees a recent trend of young teenagers reporting addictions to online chat rooms and websurfing.
"While I have not seen children with online gambling problems, I think it is only a matter of time 'til I am treating children and teen-agers for this also," Rossi said.
Researchers from the Harvard School of Medicine agree with Rossi's prediction. A recent national study showed that nearly 6 percent of teen-agers under 18 have serious gambling problems. Youths with gambling problems are more likely to use alcohol and do poorly in school.
The study, which was published in the September American Journal of Public Health, also offered some reasons why children are gambling more. Some attribute the rise to growing up in a time in which gambling is more socially accepted and lottery tickets are given to them as presents. While others believe that video games and games that mirror slot machines are allowing children to feel the thrill and excitement of gambling. However, others say that children are simply mirroring the behavior of adults.
"We believe there's no coincidence with what we're seeing," says Laura Letson, executive director of the New York Council on Problem Gambling. "They're frankly just mirroring adults and the message they're getting from society."
Whether the rise of teen-age gambling can be attributed to parents, society, video games or the computer all agree that teen-age gambling is on the rise. The rise of teen-age gambling may hold grave consequences for both the gambler and their families.
Posted May 1, 2000
Copyright 2000 Nevada Outpost
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