High Stakes for Teen Casino Gamblers
Most kids have gambled before their 18th birthday, according to the National Council on Problem Gambling. In the past decade gambling has moved from Vegas and Atlantic City right into our neighborhoods and, oftentimes, our living rooms. Almost every state offers some form of legalized gaming, from lotteries and bingo to riverboat casinos and Indian gaming.
Thanks to the Internet and televised poker tournaments, our homes can even be havens for gambling. Of course, this activity is supposed to be reserved for adults. But researchers say a shocking number of kids are gambling, whether they're doing it online with credit cards, sneaking into casinos with fake IDs, holding their own Texas Hold 'Em poker games or betting on sports events. The National Council on Problem Gambling, in fact, says a "vast majority" of kids have gambled before their 18 th birthday, and researchers who study the issue, such as Lia Nower, an assistant professor of social work at the University of Missouri in St. Louis, say that anywhere from 24 to 42 percent of adolescents gamble weekly.
Of these gamblers, about 3 to 5 percent will become problem gamblers. "Kids are very vulnerable. They're about twice as likely as adults to develop a problem with gambling," says Nower.
June 15, 2006
Posted By Bob Hartman
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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