Focusing on the Children
Underage gambling is a hot button all over the world mainly because the
expansion of the online casino gambling industry means that underage gamblers
have increased access to the sites no matter what preventive measures are in
place at the gambling sites. The online casinos themselves have policies and
software in place designed to minimize the accessibility of internet gambling
accounts to minors and problem gamblers. The UK Gambling Commission has decided
to tackle the issue of minors at the online casinos and announced that Professor
Gill Valentine’s commissioned report on the subject of underage gambling has
just been released.
Professor Valentine’s report is, specifically, a literature review of children
and young people gambling. The Commission is looking for a comprehensive round
up of the information readily available on the subject as well as information
concerning where there are gaps in research and knowledge. Basically, the UK
liberalized the countries online casino gambling legislation and gave internet
gambling companies both more liberties and more responsibilities when it comes
to offering services to UK gamblers. A big area of concern for the UK Gambling
Commission is the short and long-term affects that gambling has on children and
young people.
The report showed some surprising results that point less to errors from the
online casinos and more of a national issue that can only be fixed through
education and new programs in place. Valentine’s report included the observation
that underage gamblers invariably find a way to gamble no matter what
restrictions are in place, and that some times the parents of these underage
gamblers even facilitate the gambling. Coupled with that was the information
that indicates that underage gamblers suffer from higher amounts of problem
gambling or show signs of becoming problem gamblers in higher percentages than
the percentage of adult gamblers. |