Underage gamblers facing debt

Filed in archive Gambling General on February 24, 2006

Depending on where you live, you need to be over 18 or 21 to enter a casino. This rule holds whether you're playing in London, Vegas or Cyberspace. However, more and more underage gamblers are managing to place bets online. Is underage gambling becoming a problem? Back in December 2005, a teenager from Pennsylvania, USA was accused of robbing a bank in order pay of massive debts he'd accrued online. Psychiatrist Warren Bickel (pictured) highlighting the problem on a news channel website, offered his solution.

Bickel, an expert in addictive behaviours at University of Arkansas, told KATV channel 7 news, that a child's brain is not mature enough to handle the consequences of gambling. He said, "They can't consider the future sufficiently...in a way that we would consider appropriate." Put simply, the child (or teenager) is not mentally equipped to handle high-stakes gambling.

What then is the solution? Bickel suggests removing the possibility of online gambling using internet blockers or 'nannies'. These programs restrict access to selected websites.

I'd like to add two further bits of advice: Keep an eye on your credit card and teach your kids about gambling. Casinos like to image themselves as centres of fast action and huge wins. Players know, however, casino winning is about slow graft and modest wins. Chasing the big wins, credit card in hand, is going to make you a loser how ever old you are.

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