(Source: MIRS.news, Published 09/02/22) Between 60% and 80% of high school students said they have gambled over the past year, according to statistics from the National Council on Problem Gambling.
Those same statistics say between 4% to 6% of students between ages 12 to 17 are considered gambling addicts and another 10% to 14% are at risk. EarthWeb estimates 75% of college students have gambled in the past year and 6% of college-aged students have a problem.
“We knew when online gambling was going to be offered that kids would get involved in it. That’s their world. That’s their playground. That’s where they go and that’s what is happening now,” Michael Burke, director of the Michigan Association of Problem Gamblers, said.
Burke said when it passed his organization was told there were rules in place that would prevent teens from gaming.
Michigan Gaming Control Board Executive Director Henry Williams said bettors by law must be age 21 or older to place a bet on authorized internet gaming or internet sports betting sites or in the Detroit casinos. The operators also must establish age and identity before opening an internet account.
“My response was, obviously, you have never raised a 15-year-old child in your lifetime, because they will, and they are, finding ways to get on,” Burke said.
Williams said young people could also be turning to illegal gambling options.
A 2017 NCPG study noted that 13% of teens were betting on sports, with professional football and college basketball being the most often wagered. Michigan law prevents bets from being placed on high school sporting events.
EarthWeb data found that college students are at more than double the risk of gambling addiction.
“The first stage of compulsive gambling is called winning,” Burke said. “Win enough money and believe me, that will stay with you for years, because all of the sudden you think you have some special ability that you didn’t know you had.”
Burke said problem gamblers between 18 to 35 end up chasing the dragon, a common parlance meaning a pursuit of a “high” equal to the first time, and end up falling down the rabbit hole.
Williams said parents can be on the lookout for signs of problem gambling, which include carrying dice, cards, or poker chips; gambling with school-related money; skipping class; borrowing, stealing or selling items to get money.
Burke said it is a big problem because two out of three compulsive gamblers will commit a crime to get money to gamble.
“They steal money from their families. They steal money from their parents. They steal it from friends. They steal it from employees, employers,” Burke said. “We have to find ways to help these people.”
Williams said there is a 24-hour, toll-free hotline at 800-270-7117, which is run by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, to call for people with a problem.
“If a family member or a close friend has a gambling problem, it’s important to encourage seeking professional help,” Williams said.
The State Administrative Board just authorized nearly $89 million in funding to different mental health organizations around Michigan that help problem gamblers.
Burke said the hotline and programs that the hotline sets the problem gamblers up with are not enough to help those people. With the constant temptation of online gaming, the relapse rate is staggering.
He said the programs are 10 weeks for one hour each time, but even those people need to qualify before being admitted to the programs.
“We’re talking about a group of people who spend 20 hours a day thinking, dreaming, talking about gambling. It’s their life. It’s everything," Burke said.
He said over the years he has talked to so many people with gambling problems and has been asked about the worst type of addiction on numerous occasions.
“The worst kind of addiction is the one that you are presently suffering from,” Burke said.
