Gambling Addictions in Children
By: Greenlee Rigby, Kirksville Senior High School
Gambling temptation is a problem that plagues minors on an everyday basis. Jake Paul and Rice Gum, two influencers on YouTube, were caught promoting a gambling website to their primarily children audiences. The website, Mystery Brand, offers boxes of various priced boxes where users have the chance to win a Lamborghini, multi-million-dollar mansion, or Chanel hand bag. While most adults can recognize the website seems too good to be true, the developing minds of children may not see it.
While working as a peer tutor at Moberly Area Community College, I witnessed under-age gambling take place on a weekly basis. As long as there was a credit card attached to an online gambling account, the player had free reign to bet as much or as little as they pleased. My peers were sucked into vicious cycles of winning once and then never winning again. It became clear to me that gambling is an addiction that is easy to start but not easy to fix. In Missouri, it is illegal for anyone to gamble under the age of 21, and teens in Missouri are becoming gambling addicts in front of our community's eyes.
In America, children are having a harder time filling their free time with productive activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a survey conducted by knowtheodds.org, they found 90% of students surveyed in high school were found to have gambled in the last 12 months.
You may ask yourself why people decide to start gambling in the first place. The answer is partially found in brain development. According to NPR, the brain does not fully develop until a person reaches the age of 25. The frontal cortex, the part of the brain that controls impulsive behavior, is only halfway developed at age 18. For instance, if a 16 year old wins big on a lottery ticket, there is a higher probability of the 16 year old investing into more tickets than an adult.
Students are playing cards, betting on high school sports teams, and purchasing lottery tickets in spite of age restrictions. These activities may start as a way to pass time and form friendships, but oftentimes it spirals out of control. The Mayo Clinic states that gambling addictions can begin as influence from friends or family; a friend group could feed off of each other's wins.
As with a drug addict, gamblers will find a way to meet their needs. It is not uncommon for people under 21 to create fake IDs and attempt to enter casinos, or have an older friend buy them scratch off tickets. Online websites are dangerous because it is hard to regulate the age of users. No matter how a person under 21 decides to gamble, there are risks when gambling activity increases.
Advertising gambling is contributing to the normalization of gambling addictions. According to a study conducted in 2019, children see an average of 4.4 gambling advertisements a week during regular TV programs, and this number is slowly decreasing as underage gambling awareness is increased. On the other hand, targeted online advertisements have proved to reach millions of children. Online advertisements, such as social media influencer posts, account for a majority of current pro-gambling advertisements. The Mystery Brand advertisements posted by Jake Paul and Rice Gum have a combined total of 8,544,148 views to date. Even though they only created 2 videos, comments show young adults losing hundreds of dollars attempting to redeem prizes the website has to offer. It is not proven advertisements can entice non-gamblers to gamble. However, it is alarming to see pro-gambling advertisements marketed towards children on YouTube.
The dangers of underage gambling include but are not limited to: isolation, debt, guilt, and falling behind in their education. Family members may see decreased interest in family activities or depression-like symptoms. There is also higher risk for substance abuse, alcoholism, suicidal thoughts, and delinquency. According to the US National Library of Medicine, 73.2% of gamblers had an alcohol use disorder, 60.4% displayed nicotine dependence, and 38.1% had a drug use disorder.
If you see someone who is struggling with gambling addiction, the Missouri Department of Mental Health has a 24 hour hotline people may use. You can reach it by dialing 888-BETS-OFF or (888-238-7633). It is available 7 days a week to help people with gambling addiction. Missouri also offers a Gamblers Anonymous group where people can tackle their gambling addictions. Parents and teachers have the power to step up and take action, and potentially break the cycle of addictive gambling. Sometimes family intervention is the best way to reach out to a person you love. If you have a gambling disorder, don’t be afraid to reach out for help. Your community is here for you.
-Greenlee Rigby (12)