Over the past year, two-fifths of eleven to sixteen-year old’s have gambled in a variety of ways; fruit machines being the most popular followed by playing cards with friends for money and lastly scratch cards. Research has been released today stating that gambling among young people is a growing problem and more must be done to highlight risks.
Young People Do Not Feel Bad About Gambling
The worrying facts from this report is that most of the gambling is meant to be for those aged 18 and over so what regulations have been put in place to ensure that young people are cared for? Of those who had gambled, 84 per cent reported never feeling bad as a result; young people and students should not be gambling at this age as addictions can form.
The Centre of the Development and Evaluation of Complex Interventions for Public Health Improvement have stated that over the last twenty years, smoking and drinking alcohol in adolescents have reduced but gambling is emerging as a new public health issue causing stress, mental health concerns and vulnerability.