Rise of Internet Gambling Among Teens: Parents Need to Know

Internet gambling over the years on the rise, and it is one of the most popular pastime activities among college-going students and among teens. Gone are the days when people can only buy lotto tickets, play in the casino, and bet on sports games. Nowadays, online gambling is growing faster than ever before among teens.

Teen’s online betting activities have become a headache for parents because they steal money from their credit cards and bets online to make or lose the money. It is the online category that almost has 10 million users. Online gambling worldwide is now worth more than $30 Billion and online poker is worth $6 billion annually in the U.S alone, according to Justice Department online poker and betting is illegal.

There are plenty of gambling websites that have teens and young users and more than 20% of the high school going teens used to play poker at least once in the month, Annenberg Public Policy Center stated that. Moreover, it used to track young teens playing on gambling websites over the last decade.

It is a kind of gambling that happens in cyberspace. People can play poker virtually, sports betting, and on online casinos. It was first introduced publically in terms of ticketing for the Liechtenstein International Lottery in October 1994. Most of the countries worldwide have banned it, but in many states of the United States, it is still legal activity.

Several youngsters and college-goers are found to be engaged in online gambling. Recently a survey was conducted by the director of the Annenberg Adolescent Communication Institute Mr. Dan Romer. In that survey, it was found out that more and more college-going teens have started internet gambling and payment restrictions on such websites could not keep them from doing so. Given are a few facts that are derived from the survey report.

• Around 400,000 college-goers or young persons between the age of 18 and 22 gamble online at least once a week.
• More than 1.7 million youngsters gamble on the internet at least once a month.
• Approximately 530,000 high school-aged male teens visit online gambling sites every month.
• The percentage of male internet gamblers of high school-aged has increased from 2.7% to 6.2% between 2008 and 2010.
• Females of high school age are found to be less involved in internet gambling as compared to males. They seem more interesting in offline gambling related to sports.
• In 2008, around 9.5 percent of female high school goers were reported getting involved in sports gambling each month. This percentage has increased up to 22 percent in 2010.
• The dramatic increase in teenage online gamblers is because payment restrictions are no more an issue for youngsters.

Parents these days are making efforts to protect minors from gambling on the cyberspace because they have access to computers, cellphones, and tablets. Kids have access to plenty of online casinos and card rooms on their phones connected to the internet.

They need to make a few clicks to access the gambling activities no time ever before. The internet provided anonymity of the online interactions, and teens can easily cross that age barrier and start playing online pokers and other games related to gambling by using their parent’s electronic money.

There are a few common practices that encourage youngsters to get engaged in online gambling. For instance, providing kids with unlimited and private access to the internet is not uncommon, but this is what prompts them to get involved in wrongdoings. Moreover, if someone in teens’ immediate family members gambles, they are more likely to take an interest in betting.

If your kid has a habit of betting on every little thing, he/she is more probable of being involved in gambling in cyberspace. Also, kids of impulsive nature are more likely to have a bet for money or an effortless gain. The ‘free to play’ zones on gambling platforms make teens give it a try. They are likely to experience it again and again if they win shortly after playing the game.

Are you worried about your kid’s involvement in internet gambling? Rather than worrying about your kid’s conduct, make a few practices to prevent your youngster from betting and many other wrongdoings on the internet.

Firstly, you need to demonstrate the conduct that you want your kids to follow. If you do not want your teens to get engaged in betting, do not do it yourself. Someone in your family is involved in this gaming, try to convince him/her to leave it for the betterment of kids and the whole family.

Secondly, set and enforce a few digital rules to help your kids using their digital devices sensibly. Let them know what kind of behavior is appropriate and what is objectionable. Also, tell them what kind of websites are permissible and what are not appropriate for their age e.g., gambling websites and other adult-oriented websites. Installing software that automatically blocks such websites on computers and smartphones is also recommended.

You must know what kind of websites your kids visit. TheOneSpy can help you out in secretly tracking the internet usage of your kids on smartphones and personal computers. You can get access to the internet browsing history and websites bookmarked on their devices. It lets you know if your kid is engaged in some sort of online betting.

Many parents do not bother, but the placement of computers and digital devices in your home matter. Do not allow kids to have computers or internet access in their bedrooms. Make sure that the digital devices are in open common areas from where you can monitor their activities. Otherwise, you can make use of the  monitoring software to keep a secret eye on online and offline activities of teens from anywhere and anytime.

If you are suspicious about your kid’s online activities and you may have realized that your teen is an internet gambler, then you can make use of the technology. You can keep an eye on your children’s online activities on cellphones and computer devices to protect them from wrongdoings to the fullest.