| Youth Gambling Figures Shock |
| Monday, 08 December 2008 22:38 |
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Just released is the annual National Annenberg Survey of Youth, which will be of great interest to those who are worried about gambling amongst the young. The contents of the report itself will certainly raise a few eyebrows and fire up some emotions amongst parents. On one hand, figures for underage gambling at online casinos by people with ages in the range of 14 to 22 have stayed low, with figures for online poker actually falling slightly on the previous year. However, in the sector of sports gambling, figures in that age range are rising and present a major cause for concern. Many anti-gambling groups have been pressing for an online gambling ban as the most effective way of protecting children from any exposure to it. However, this survey highlights the fact that despite recent changes in the laws and persecutions handed out by the US Department of Justice, there are still in excess of 700,000 people that fall into the survey’s age group who still manage to engage in online gambling at least once every month. What is even more worrying, however, is the great increase in numbers of those who bet once or more times monthly on sports gambling. This figure has risen during the last year, up from its previous level of 20.7% to the current level of 26.4%. The numbers of those in the subject group that gambled on sports betting once a week rose from last year’s figure of 5% to 9.7% now. It would appear that these figures have dealt a severe blow to those bodies that are seeking to enforce an online gambling prohibition by censoring the Internet. These statistics have clearly highlighted that the current ban on online gambling fails to protect anyone at all. It also highlights the probability that actual sports are much more conducive to attracting young gamblers than do computers. In fact it would appear that the group known as Focus on the Family might have more impact on gambling by lobbying for a ban on televised sports such as the National Football league. This would seem to make more sense as it would appear the NFL has the capacity to lead more teenagers to gamble than Internet casinos. Of course we all know how that would pan out! |