New report indicates 450,000 children gamble each week
The Gambling Commission’s Young People and Gambling Report states that around 9,000 of the half a million children gambling each week are likely to be “problem gamblers”.
The report found that among 11-15 year-old’s the overall rate of gambling has remained static at around 16%, in comparison to the declining rate of smoking (5%) drug-taking (6%) and alcohol consumption (8%) in the same age-group. Yet 60% of children surveyed agreed that ‘gambling is dangerous’.
Tim Miller, Gambling Commission executive director, said;
“We’re often reminded to discuss the risks of drinking, drugs and smoking with our children. However our research shows that children are twice as likely to gamble as do any of those things.”
Gambling under the age of 16 is illegal, and most of the children in the study gambled on fruit machines, placed a private bet with friends or had National Lottery scratch cards purchased for them by their parents.
However 3% of participants had at some point spent their own money gambling online and
6% have at some point gambled online using their parents’ accounts, either with or without permission.
When asked if they had gambled in the week prior to taking part in the study boys were twice as likely to say yes at 21% as girls at 11%.
Brian Souter, Education Manager at DebtAware said;
“Gambling is definitely something that children are aware of, either through their own families or through their friends, and this report really highlights the prevalence of gambling among a younger age group than maybe some parents would expect.
“Of course many people gamble without problems, but it is vital that children have an understanding of what gambling is, how people become addicted to it and what the consequences are of gambling too much.”