Dec
14th

Underage Gambling not a big Concern to Canadian Parents

According to a Canadian study released last week, parents are not in the least concerned about underage gambling despite the fact that fast expanding new technologies offer teens much more opportunities to gamble and lose money.

The study that was carried out by researchers from McGill University and DECODE, an organization that observes issues relating to youth, made the discovery that only 40 per cent of parents are actually worried that underage gambling is a serious or very serious issue presently facing their children.

After interviewing 2,700 Canadian parents, the researchers found that they were more concerned about their children being on drugs (87%), consuming alcohol (82%) unsafe sex (81%), drinking and driving (81%), obesity (66%), negative body image (64%) and spending too much time playing video games (64%). These parents are unaware of the direct correlation between gambling as a youth and problem gambling in later life.

Eric Meerkamper, president of DECODE, said in a teleconference that “Gambling for youth, as a social issue, doesn’t really sit on parents’ radar”. He feels that parents should be made more aware of the sharp increase in underage gambling activities, especially on social networking sites like Facebook where may of the youth subscribe to the popular Texas Hold’Em poker application.

Lottery terminals are present everywhere and parents are advised not to buy lottery tickets for their children. It is very important for parents to be encouraged to discuss gambling with their children as there are many unregulated online opportunities for youth gambling

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