About 16% of 11-15 year olds play gambling games every week, according to a British study which points to the risks of addiction among young people.
They are not 16 years old and already have a very pronounced taste for gambling (JAH). In Great Britain, the Gambling Commission, regulator of the gaming industry, is sounding the alarm in a report recently released. Some 450,000 children and adolescents aged 11 to 15 play JAH (slot machines, bets, scratch games, etc.) every week in England and Wales, i.e. a prevalence rate of 16% among this young person. population.
More than tobacco and alcohol
“These figures are to be compared with the 5% of 11-15 year olds who have smoked tobacco and the 8% who have drunk alcohol in the last week, while 6% have taken drugs”, note the authors, who wonder. While over the long term, the prevalence of smoking, alcohol and drug use among 11-15 year olds has tended to decrease, the prevalence of gambling has stagnated among this group.
“We are often reminded that we must discuss the risks of alcohol, drugs and tobacco with our children,” says the Gambling Commission. But our research shows that children are twice as likely to play ADHD as they are to use any of these substances ”. However, according to the authors’ estimates, among the 450,000 young players, 9,000 are at risk of developing a problematic relationship with the JAH.
Responsibility of parents
The authors thus call on adults to adopt a certain discourse and an attitude towards the JAH. Because most of the time, young people have access to these games prohibited to minors through their parents – this is particularly the case of scratch games, typically acquired by parents and offered to children. In addition, 6% of 11-15 year olds used the parental account to visit a gambling website, with or without permission from the main stakeholders.
“We want to reassure parents that our rules require gambling companies to prevent minors from playing and to tackle this problem,” writes the Gambling Commission. We take very strict measures when we find that young people are not protected. “
However, it is clear that there are rather large loopholes. While the Gambling Commission notes that there are a number of JAH open to minors, such as lint-catching machines or private bets between friends, it nevertheless calls on parents to “talk with their children about the risks associated with gambling, in order to that if they choose to play when they are adults, they do so in a responsible and safe manner ”. And this, especially since work has previously shown that the earlier a person plays, the more the risk of becoming a problem gambler increases.
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