Since the United States Supreme Court deleted the legal obstacles that had prohibited states to authorize the game, some 31 years now allow sports betting on phones or websites, and seven states have authorized the online casino game. The result of this legal change “is a crisis, an epidemic of game disorders and financial disruption, in particular for young men”, writes Jonathan Cohen, author of “Losing Big: America’s Reckful Bate on Sports Gambling”.
According to the Siena Research Institute, almost half of men from 18 to 49 – or 22% of all Americans – have an active sports betting account. A national survey led by Farleigh Dickinson University revealed that ten percent of men between 18 and 30 can be problematic players, a function of the availability of online betting on sports and slot machines. Minor games of chance are also increasing. The largest demographic group calling for hotlines is adolescents and young adults in their twenties, and Yale Medicine reports that many problems start when players are adolescents. Players starting Young are more likely to develop a problem in adulthood. Although betting can be another form of entertainment for many, those who have a problem have a higher suicide rate than alcoholics or drug addicts. In addition, the Journal of Pediatrics reported that the game of minors is linked to drug addiction.
“If you think your child does not play, either he is an exception, or you are wrong,” said Cohen. “Your son, if he plays video games or likes sport, plays almost certainly in one way or another,” he added.
Like Minnick, some adolescents play games on sites that their parents may not make involve bets: the fantasy of outsiders, prizepicks and choices of sleeping, for example, fall into the fantastic sports category, and most states allow young people to participate. (All, except a handful of states, require players to be at least 21 to place bets on large online sites such as Draftings and BETMGM.) Teenage teens and more determined adolescents could also find ways to bypass the age requirements of the leading sites by tightening the social security numbers of their parents and using Apple Pay to finance the habit. The cool high school, said Minnick, is the one who has access to her parents’ fandual account and is authorized to bet.
“Most parents do not know how targeted their children are targeted by the predatory game,” said the Bernal, who heads the Plaidoyer Stop Predator Gambling group.
Game industry experts encourage parents to act.
Talk about
“The messages that children receive on the game come from advertisements and advertising,” said Cohen. Some of the most eminent promoters are the largest sports stars: Legends of football Eli and Peyton Manning, Golfing Horse Jordan Spieth, Basketball Great Lebron James and Shaquille O’Neal, Red Sox David Ortiz.
“These athletes create a level of confidence in the game,” said Samantha Thomas, professor of public health at Deakin University in Australia. “They think:” If Shaq does it, it can’t be a bad thing “,” she added.
As intimidating as it may be to challenge the wisdom of the stars, the adults who treat must counter this messaging. Many already talk to their children of pornography, drugs and alcohol abuse. The same must be said of the game. “It will only change if parents are talking about it,” said Bernal.
Messages for children on the game
The Draftings and Fanduelle sell the idea that the game is fun, there is money to make and that those who have an expertise in athletics could have an advantage, playing the excessive confidence of certain boys in the knowledge of their sports.
Thomas advises parents to put pressure on industry motivations: he promotes the game to help others earn money, but to take it themselves. Remember that the game industry is not in heart the best interest of players. They need to achieve what most adults are already doing – that the house always wins.
Children must learn that regardless of their knowledge of athletes and teams, there is no career in sports betting and that dependence on the game is real. They must understand that “chasing your losses” – double bets after losing a lot – is a symptom of dependence. If they are in trouble, children should be reassured that they can ask for help.
How to talk about games with children
Scary threats and tactics can turn against him.
“If my parents had said,” Never play again! ” I would have done it faster, ”said Rob Minnick. Bernal said children react better to information. He advised to tell children that the game is very addictive and informs them that the whole scene is a scam – companies see you as an easy brand.
Minnick encouraged parents to continue to talk about it and allow your child to easily reveal their problem. And if the teenager reveals a game problem at any level, like betting or losing more than expected, treat it as seriously as you would do it on drugs or alcohol dependence.
Practice what you preach on the game
“Do not bring your children in casinos,” said Bernal. “It would be like taking drugs in front of your children,” he added. Parents who play should model safe habits and bet in a responsible manner.
On November 12, 2022, Minnick took his last bet. He followed a 12 -hour game frenzy, in which he lost all his money and accumulated debts that would take six months to reimburse. For the second time in his life, he went to a rehabilitation center and “detoxified” habit. He is free to bet, said Minnick because he found a sense of helping other problems with problems to abandon. He launched an organization called ODAAT (one day at a time) which offers resources to players and their families, including information on rehabilitation, financial advice and educational videos.
