Gambling: Dangers for Kids and Teens
With the development of mobile technology and the Internet, children are increasingly becoming addicted to gambling even before they reach adulthood. According to recent studies, some start gambling as early as 10 years old, and by the age of 15 they are earning a gambling addiction.
Most often, they become addicted to slot machines at online casinos and card games at home or in schools. Some teens who are into sports may also sign up at bookmakers under someone else's name and bet on their favorite teams' games.
A huge layer of work to attract children to gambling is done by television and radio, which regularly broadcast advertisements for legal bookmakers. But even without them, today's children would have a great risk of gambling addiction since many popular video games have loot boxes.
The root of the problem is that many children, like some adults, do not perceive gambling not just as entertainment but as a way to earn or enrich themselves. At 13-15 years of age, it is quite difficult to accumulate a large sum from pocket money, and gambling operators than you can find at www.topcadcasinos.net promise big winnings on small bets, tempting schoolchildren as well. Children do not read to the end of the promotion's conditions and think they get money for free.
As a result, they register at online casinos using their parents' documents or fictitious names, launch demo slot machines, win large sums and decide that playing for real money will also bring considerable profit. As a result, they lose their own and their parents' money, get into debt, and play at the same time, trying to win back and cover all unexpected expenses. This is where the road to addiction begins.
How to prevent child from gambling?
First of all, you need to talk to them about what gambling really is: tell them about the probability of winning and losing over a long distance and that it is only a way to have fun by spending extra money. Only the owners of an online casino are able to make money with it.
The following fact can be cited for this: "The chance of winning the lottery is 1 in 15 million, while the chance of dying by lightning is 1 in 300 thousand.
It is also necessary to observe the behavior of the child and the changes in their mental state. Many teenagers tend to stop communicating with their parents, lock themselves in their rooms and not make contact. But it is important to check their spending, remove their bank cards from accessible places, and monitor their child's subscriptions on their gadgets.
For example, if a child suddenly has a large amount of money or things he could not afford before, it should be a cause for concern to the parents. It is imperative to find out where he got the extra money from.
Also, a marker for the emergence of gambling addiction can be a decrease in performance at school, reduced contact with friends, and so on.
