Discussion paper released for National Youth Week looks at young people and gambling

To mark National Youth Week 2017, the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation has released a discussion paper on young people and gambling: Gen Bet: Has gambling gatecrashed our teens?

Children born in this millennium are digital natives for whom social media is practically lifeblood. Eight in ten adolescents have a smart phone and six in ten use their phone to go online. This has allowed the gambling environment – which has changed radically during their childhood – to infiltrate their world.

The paper draws on a range of Australian and international research about young people and gambling conducted in recent years. The findings include that:

• four in ten adolescents have seen promotions of gambling on social media
• one in five adolescents play social casino games
• one in ten young people gamble online
• over two-thirds of children aged eight to sixteen can recall the name of at least one sports betting brand
• one in five children can identify three or more sports betting brands.

Acting Foundation chief executive Craig Swift says the paper clearly shows gambling is a significant issue for young people today.

‘This generation is the first to be exposed to saturation marketing of gambling, particularly online betting. And mobile apps mean gambling is more accessible than ever before.

‘We have a more pervasive gambling environment and we must be vigilant about the effect it’s having on our kids,’ he says.

The paper highlights the need to educate our children to develop healthy and informed attitudes towards gambling. It also outlines what the Foundation is doing to reduce gambling harm for young people.

Download: Gen Bet: Has gambling gatecrashed our teens? (PDF - 2990.3 KB)

National Youth Week is an annual, Australia-wide celebration of young people aged 12 to 25 years. It is a joint initiative of the federal, state, territory and local governments.