There’s a gambling crisis among our young and impressionable population. Naysayers who think that statement is an exaggeration needn’t look any further than the following statistics for the U.S. and Canada for confirmation:
60-80% of high school students in the USA have already gambled for money (source)
14-19% of American high school students fit the criteria of having a gambling problem (source)
9% of secondary students in Ontario (about 55,000 students) indicate low-to-high severity gambling problem (source)
10% of elementary schools in Ontario had 20% or more of students reporting gambling problems (source)
High school students have a 200% higher rate of problem gambling than adults in Canada (source)
High school students have a 100% higher rate of problem gambling than adults in the USA (source)
86% of primary school students aged 8-12 years old admit to having gambled for money, with more than 40% reporting gambling once a week or more (source)
The good news, is that a number of parental groups, educators, and community leaders are ready to take a stand against the normalization of gambling behavior amongst adolescents. There are now increased calls for a youth gambling awareness program in nearly every major city across the United States and Canada. To be effective and sustainable, these programs must integrate key components. As a leader in the development of problem gambling support platforms for vulnerable populations in America, Kindbridge Behavioral Health is happy to share insights into how to build the foundation for successful youth gambling awareness programs. Below is a breakdown of critical building blocks along with links to resources to learn more about each. Read ahead and feel free to reach out anytime to discuss what Kindbridge can do to help your cause.
6 Building Blocks Required to Create an Effective Youth Gambling Awareness Program for Your School and Community
I. Make Youth Facilities a No-Gambling Zone
Schools and community centers must become no-gambling zones. This may sound obvious, but casino themes have been used not just for school dances and community events, but haplessly by some teachers as a means to teach students about math and other subjects. A question recently posed by on Quora is just one example of extremely concerning activities taking place in our nations’ schools:
“What are some good ideas for a casino game? In my math class, we have to come up with a casino game but I don’t know anything about gambling since I am only 17 years old. Does anyone have any ideas?“
(Quora)
Ensure that every person involved in the organization of activities and lessons understands that gambling themes are strictly prohibited.
Further, youth must not be allowed to access online gambling platforms while on-premises. Modern routers come with built-in content control settings. By setting up these controls, administrators can block gambling and gambling gateway content on all devices connected to a facility’s home network. Blacklist websites and apps for all of the following:
- Online casinos
- Social/sweepstakes casinos
- Online sports betting
- Daily fantasy sports (DFS)
- eSports
- Video gaming
II. Inform Youth About Vulnerabilities
While growing up, those from Gen-X to the current generation have been well informed about genetic vulnerabilities to developing alcoholism and drug addictions. Consequently, youth (and their parents) are now accustomed to educator-led discussions about risks of developing to substance abuse disorders. While problem gambling is not a chemical but a process addiction (compulsion to continually engage in problematic behaviors) it needs to be treated in the same manner as substance abuse disorders in educational settings. A youth gambling awareness program must include communication of vulnerabilities to developing gambling disorder (GD) so that adolescents better understand their own risks and can discuss these vulnerabilities with their parents and counselors with parental consent.
Discussions about the following should be included in any youth gambling awareness program:
Learning Disabilities and Gambling
III. Teach Youth to Identify Gambling Themes in Games
Some may wonder why video games have been added to the list of digital platforms to ban from facilities (above). Whether or not administrators choose blacklist video games, all youth gambling awareness programs should expose underlying gambling themes that exist in supposedly “age-appropriate” video games. In doing so, youth will learn to spot forms of game-play that may lead to their development of gambling behavior. The most dominant gambling theme in present day gaming for children and teens involves the use of lootboxes. Popular video games that feature lootboxes include (but are not exclusive to) the following:
- Apex legends
- FIFA
- Mario Kart Tour
- Overwatch
- Roblox
- Star Wars Battlefront 2
Learn more about gambling themes in video games that are commonly played by children and teenagers.
IV. Teach Youth to Identify Predatory Practices in Media
A recent survey reported that about 70% of young Americans see gambling ads on social media at least four times per week. Gambling advertising is even making its way into commercial breaks during children’s and family TV programming. On top of it all, is the fact that youth influencers are directly promoting gambling to their young followers on social networks. Youth gambling awareness programs must work to increase consciousness in young minds about these predatory (even if not intentional) practices and teach kids how to manage their exposure to gambling cues. Reference the following resources to learn more:
- How to Talk to Children About Gambling Advertisements
- Influencers Who Promote Gambling to Youth on Social Media
V. Provide Youth with Alternatives
Everything above will greatly increase problem gambling awareness among our youth. However, finger wagging only goes so far. Youth should also be empowered with access to activities that provide a healthy alternative to gambling and gambling adjacent pursuits. To be effective and sustainable these activities must tap into the same neurotransmitter (namely dopamine) releases that make gambling so alluring to them. Organize and facilitate access to the following types of activities into your youth gambling awareness program:
- Outdoor recreation
- Outdoor education activities
- Competitive team sports
- Meditation
- Youth entrepreneurship projects
VI. Connect to Problem Gambling Support Platform
As statistics provided in the introduction of this article indicate, an alarming number of children and teenagers exhibit gambling behavior. Some already have a gambling problem. For this reason, awareness programs must also provision access to online counseling platforms for youth and their families. It is critical that these platforms are specific to the treatment of problem gambling, built by experts in the field.
It’s time for North America to normalize counseling and therapy at an early age, not gambling nor the gateways to it. Kindbridge Behavioral Health is the preeminent provider of online problem gambling support in America and Canada (Ontario). Connect to Kindbridge today to discuss options.
Let’s Talk About a Youth Gambling Awareness Program for Your Community
CALL +1 (877) 426-4258
OR
Email [email protected]
