Gambling addiction and the teens

Could be based upon skill, but always has a component of chance. That’s what makes it “gambling” – it’s unpredictable.

Does it have to be money to be considered gambling?
Could be betting on dinner, a CD, etc. (something of value taken away if don’t win)

From Carlson & Moore, 1998:

• youth were significantly more likely to gamble and were also more likely to begin gambling earlier (in grade school) if one or both of their parents gamble.
• 25% of teens in survey reported beginning gambling in elementary/grade school
• (May also mention): respondents who reported gambling in grade school were significantly more likely to be problem gamblers (Carlson & Moore, 1998). As found in other studies, there is a correlation between gambling and alcohol, drug, and tobacco use (Westphal et al., 1998).

Lane County surveys: The average range of gambling frequency reported was 1-5 times per month

Parents, friends, TV, radio, billboards
Gambling venues -- youth gambling
Gambling has become a primary form of entertainment
Gambling as the new rite of passage into adulthood
Gambling as a family activity
General perception that gambling is a relatively harmless activity
From vice and sin to gaming and entertainment
Lotteries have often talked of the ‘public good’ derived from profits (e.g., Harvard, Yale, Princeton, William & Mary, Rutgers, etc.) – education bolstered by gambling revenues

Parents, friends, TV, radio, billboards

“It’s crazy on campus…It’s absolutely the thing to do right now.”

• Fantasy football
• Few studies have been done to methodically document the pervasiveness of college gambling and its Internet variants are just beginning to gain attention.
• "We didn't even have a category for Internet gambling prior to this year," says Tom Tucker, executive director of the CCPG and vice president of the National Council on Problem Gambling. "But clearly the majority of Net gamblers are college kids, and it's a growing problem." (2002)

Old “school” bus seen by an Oregon gambling prevention coordinator outside a casino near Tacoma, Washington (2002).

Poker, poker, poker! Some tidbits on this big trend:

The U.S. Playing Card Company produced more than 1 billion poker chips in the last three years, nearly half of them since 2004 (U.S. Playing Card Company, 2005)

Worldwide online poker revenue jumped to more than $1 billion last year, up from $365 million in 2003 and is expected to hit $2.4 billion in 2005 (Christiansen Capital Advisors, 2005)

The “World Poker Tour” series on cable’s travel channel drew an average of 1.5 million viewers in 2004 (Nielson Media Research, 2004)

A search on the word “poker” on Amazon.com (Hynes, 11/15/05) revealed over 3,500 links to products

Availability:
Increased availability in general of gambling opportunities (casinos, video poker, Internet, etc.). Oregon has more types of gambling available than most other states; one of only 5 states to offer video lottery, the only state to offer state-sponsored sports gambling (Sports Action Lottery; available until 2007).
Access:
Video lottery: over 10 thousand machines across Oregon in restaurants, bars, taverns & delis; online gambling everywhere.
Trend toward mobile gambling (e.g., software on mobile phones), satellite channel offers horseracing, gambling opportunities.
Acceptability:

• Viewed as a harmless alternative to youth drug or alcohol use (considered a fun social activity)
• Youths’ parents/families gamble more than ever (gambling has become a family activity)
  • 40-68% of youth gamble with family members (Gupta & Derevensky, 1997; Moore & Ohtsuka, 1997)
  • 80-90% of parents report knowing their children gamble for money and do not object (Ladouceur, Vitaro, Cote & Dumont, 2001)
  • 77% of adolescents reported their parents purchased lottery tickets for them (Derevensky & Gupta, 2002; Felsher, Derevensky & Gupta, in press)

Age:

• Types of gambling that attract youth are more available (video games, Internet, TV poker/blackjack shows)
• More peers gambling (sports betting, playing cards, bets on games of skill against each other, etc.)

Advertising:

• More positive gambling exposure/messages than ever (Media messages, TV shows, commercials, casino nights on campuses, bingo/fundraisers in schools, etc.)

Attractiveness: types of gambling more attractive than ever (video games, 1st generation to use video games; branded slots, etc.)
Adrenaline: Loma Linda University researcher Durand Jacobs: “Young males seek excitement from pervasive boredom. Gambling is like an upper drug, such as cocaine. It produces abnormal arousal levels.” Neuron study: gambling affects the brain in the same way as cocaine. Areas of the brain stimulated by anticipation & experience of gambling are similar to those stimulated by euphoria-inducing drugs.

Above types of gambling according to 1998 survey of 1,000 Oregon teens (Carlson & Moore, 1998).

Internet: more than 1,400 sites
Little oversight
Not “legal” to gamble if under 21 (even though all Internet gambling is offshore and technically not legal in U.S.)…but who checks ID on web?
Federal Trade Commission Chairman (FTC) visited over 100 popular gambling websites - and found that minors can access these sites easily, and that minors are often exposed to ads for online gambling on non-gambling websites.
FTC staff found that the gambling sites had inadequate or hard-to-find warnings about underage gambling prohibitions, and that some 20 percent had no warning at all.
The survey also found that these gambling sites had no effective mechanism to block minors from entering.

Video games:
Many youths report gambling with each other on video games, who will win, beat high score, etc. (anecdotal).
Possibly easy transition from video games in youth to video gambling, such as video poker/slots and Internet gambling.
Casino software, free games but potentially grooming kids to begin gambling habits.

Cards:
Texas Hold ‘Em latest trend. TV shows (Celebrity Poker Showdown, World Poker Tour, World Series of Poker) taking over the airwaves.
Here’s some information of a national survey in summer of 2004 of 16 and 17-year olds:
— 42% played poker in the last month
— 37% watch the World Poker Tour on TV
(U.S. Playing Card Company, 2004)

Again, we go back to what we just talked about: availability, acceptability, advertising/media, etc…
Note that many of these favorite types of gambling may have changed over the last 7 years since the study. (i.e., more interest in cards like Texas Hold ‘Em, the Internet has exploded since 1998).
The last survey of Oregon teens was in 1998; since then gambling opportunities have exploded. We don’t know what the ramifications are of all the latest gambling trends…

So? Kids are gambling. Big deal, right? After all, it looks like a healthy alternative to drug or alcohol use…or is it?

The rate of problem gambling among youth is estimated at 3 times higher than that of adults
(National Academy of Sciences, 2001)

Why do they do it?
1. Money 42.7%
2. Enjoyment/Fun 23.0%
3. Social Reasons 11.2%
4. Excitement 7.3%
5. Winning 3.9%
( Neigbors,Lostustter, Cronce, & Larimer, 2002)

Most youths say for the money…why? What messages do they get about gambling? So is it safe for young people who may not yet fully understand risks and consequences to gamble?

• Problem gambling is umbrella term, covers both problem and pathological gambling, the more serious form of problem gambling.
• Pathological gambling is often called an addiction due to its grip on the individual involved.
• Another definition of pathological gambling: Continuous involvement in, and preoccupation with, gambling (and an inability to stop) despite resulting adverse consequences.

Survey of 1,000 Oregon youths, ages 13-17.

Most don’t have a problem with gambling. But a total of 15% either meet the criteria for having a problem or are considered “at-risk” for developing a problem.

Four percent of teens in Oregon have a problem with gambling—that’s 1 in 25, or about one student in every classroom!

Point out some of these signs, emphasizing on audience’s group (i.e., if talking with teachers/administrators, emphasize school signs.) See signs listed on next page of notes.

Point out some information about adult problem gamblers in Oregon’s treatment programs this last year (Moore & Marotta, in press):

• Average debt: $23,127
• Over 6% made suicidal attempts
• 36% reported relationship problems
• 20% reported to have job problems as a result of gambling.
• 23% committed crimes to finance their gambling.
• 27% reported problems with alcohol, 11% with substances

(All treatment figures available at www.gamblingaddiction.org)

BUT we likely won’t see the problem in teens. Why?

• They don’t typically own cars or homes, married or have children, and many don’t yet have jobs. There are fewer commitments.
• Also, it takes years for a serious problem to develop. Remember that most adult problem gamblers report having started gambling at very young ages (10-11 years old). Research in gambling (like we know with alcohol and drugs) shows that the earlier someone begins to gamble, the more likely they are to develop a problem later in life. And the trend is that kids are gambling younger: Lane County middle school students report having started gambling at an average age of 9 years old.

Now, youth don’t need to have a problem themselves with gambling in order to be affected. Problem gambling affects the whole family.

• "Children of compulsive gamblers are often prone to suffer abuse, as well as neglect, as a result of parental problem or pathological gambling" (NORC, 1999)
• The National Research Council reported on two studies indicating between 10 and 17 percent of children of compulsive gamblers had been abused" (NRC, 1999)
• According to the National Research Council (1999), studies indicate that between 25-50 percent of spouses of pathological gamblers have been abused
• Higher rates of pathological gambling in teens whose parents gamble too much (Gupta & Derevensky, 1997; Jacobs, 2000; Wallisch & Liu, 1996)
• Children of problem gamblers report higher levels of use for tobacco, alcohol use, drug use, and overeating than do their classroom peers (Gupta & Derevensky, 1997)
• Child endangerment was exemplified in Oregon with the September 2001 report of an Oregon licensed day-care provider who left three children (1, 2 and 3 years old) in a van for over 11 hours while she gambled in a casino (Lawrence-Turner, 2001, September 15)
• We know that with other risky behaviors (like alcohol and drug use) that parental influence is a major risk or protective factor for youth engagement in the behavior. This appears to be the same with problem gambling.

Some ways in which you can tell the difference in someone you know between gambling for fun/entertainment (social gambling) and problem gambling.

Other signs:

• Unexplained absences from school
• Grades are dropping
• Asking for/borrowing money from peers
• Large amounts of money in student’s possession
• Intense interest in gambling conversations
• Displaying money or other material possessions (e.g., cars, clothes, jewelry)
• Behavior change (e.g., is day dreaming, anxious, moody, less participative, appears tired in class)
• Using gambling “lingo” in his/her conversation (e.g., bookie, loan shark, point spread, underdog or favorite, exaggerated use of the word “bet”)
• Spending unusual amount of time reading newspapers, magazines, and/or periodicals having to do with sports
• Selling personal belongings
• Bragging about winnings
• Lying, cheating, or stealing in school

Treatment works! Six months after gamblers successfully completed treatment, approximately 90% reported that they either no longer gambled or gambled much less than before treatment. Even of those who did not remain in treatment, over 72% reported no, or reduced, gambling at six months after leaving treatment (Moore & Marotta, in press).

In states (OR, WA, LA) with systems in place to provide problem gambling services, problem gambling prevalence declined an average of 22% (Volberg, 2001)

In states without problem gambling services (MT & ND), the rate of problem gambling increased an average of 35% (Volberg, 2001)

BUT…few people are seeking help

• Lack of awareness & education about problem
• Funding to advertise availability of help
• Stigma
• Hard to identify problem in young people; harder for them also to accept they may have a problem

In schools:

we can increase prevention efforts through classroom education
we can review policies on gambling activity on school property

At home:

we can teach youth about risks and consequences of gambling
we can model responsible choices

In our community:

we can encourage open communication about the issue
we can look out for early warning signs and have resources available for help

The front photo, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/mickyates/42019276/

Music from Pink Floyd, Money