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Learning, yearning, but not earning: A brief look at student gambling
Last week, the UK Gambling Commission put out a press release relating to student gambling. Having been in the university sector for as long as I have been researching gambling (i.e., 30 years), student gambling is an area that has always been close to my professional heart. I have published dozens of papers on youth gambling and student gambling over the last three decades (see ‘Further reading’ below for a few examples).
With my daughter leaving home to go to university this week there are lots I could potentially worry about and gambling isn’t necessarily my main concern where my daughter is concerned, but gambling is still of concern to me especially because a study I published back in 2012 with Luke Benson and Dr. Christine Norman (in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction) found that first year university students gambled more than final year students and were more susceptible to problem gambling compared to final year students.
The Gambling Commission have just published their own research into the topic. They hired Youth Sight who conducted 1,000 online interviews with undergraduate students in August 2017 (the students were part of an online panel recruited from applicants through Universities and Colleges Admission Service). The quotas chosen reflected the UK student population in terms of gender, course year and university group. Here are some of their key findings:
- Two-thirds of students had gambled in the previous month
- Over half of student gamblers (54%) engaged in gambling to make money
- Two-fifths of students said they felt guilty after they had gambled
- One in eight student gamblers had missed lectures due to gambling
- One in four student gamblers (25%) had spent more money gambling than they could afford
- One in 25 student gamblers (4%) were in debt because of their gambling
- One in four students that had a gambling debt, had a debt of over £10,000
The Gambling Commission noted there were are number of limitations with the study. They specifically noted that gambling participation rates may have been higher than if the data had been collected using other methodologies (telephone, face-to-face interviews) due to the self-selecting nature of online surveys. However, online surveys were chosen due to students’ access to technology and the availability of a representative panel via this method.
On the back of their survey, the Gambling Commission also provided their top ten tips to help students avoid getting into trouble with gambling. I have reproduced them here verbatim.
- Ask yourself why you are gambling: Are you gambling to escape debt or as a way to make quick money? Think carefully about your motivations to gamble. Gambling shouldn’t be seen as the answer to improving your personal finances. If you have concerns about money, speak to a financial adviser or student support services.
- Monitor how often you’re gambling online: Websites must give you access to historic account activity. This means you can see exactly when, how much and what you’ve been gambling on over time and make well-informed choices about what to do next.
- Keep track of how much time you’ve spent gambling: With a reality check, you can set alerts to pop up on screen, which help you to monitor the time spent gambling either online or on gaming machines in a betting shop.
- Limit how much you can spend: If you’re concerned about how much money you’re gambling, you can set a limit on how much you spend across individual gambling products online. You can also set a limit on how much you spend on gaming machines in a betting shop.
- Give yourself a timeout: During a timeout, you can block yourself from gambling online for a set amount of time, of up to 6 weeks, and even bar yourself from gambling during a specific time of day.
- Need a longer break? Self-exclude from gambling firms for a minimum of 6 months: If you think you are spending too much time or money gambling – whether online or in gambling premises – you can ask to be self-excluded. This is when you ask the company to stop you from gambling with them for a period of time. The exclusion will last for a minimum of least six months. Self-exclusion can be used if you think you have a problem with gambling and want help to stop. [The Gambling Commission] are also working with industry representatives to develop a national online self-exclusion scheme.
- Read the terms and conditions: Did you know almost 80% of gamblers haven’t read the terms and conditions on the websites they are gambling on? By taking the time to read the T&Cs, you can ensure you understand exactly what you are gambling on, and what restrictions are attached to promotions and bonus offers (such as a minimum spend level before the bonus is paid) – this will help you make an informed decision.
- Make sure the website you’re gambling with is licensed: Make sure you’re gambling with a Gambling Commission licensed business. This means you’ll be protected by gambling and consumer protection rules in Great Britain. Licensed gambling businesses must display that they are licensed and provide a link to our licence register where you can see what type of activities they are allowed to offer and also if we have taken any regulatory action against them.
- Check how your money is protected: Any gambling business that holds customer funds must explain in their T&Cs how customer funds are protected if the business goes bust – this should help you decide who you want to gamble with.
- Feel it’s getting too much? Talk to someone: There are a number of gambling support groups available if you feel your gambling is getting out of control or too much. More information about the signs of problem gambling can be found on the Gambleaware and Gamcare websites [You can call the National Gambling Helpline on Freephone 0808 8020 133]. They also provide general information about gambling, including how to gamble safely and where to get help if you or someone you know has problems with their gambling.
Dr. Mark Griffiths, Professor of Behavioural Addiction, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
Further reading
Benson, L., Norman, C. & Griffiths, M.D. (2012). The role of impulsivity, sensation seeking, coping, and year of study in student gambling: A pilot study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 10, 461-473.
Canale, N., Griffiths, M.D., Vieno, A., Siciliano, V. & Molinaro, S. (2016). Impact of internet gambling on problem gambling among adolescents in Italy: Findings from a large-scale nationally representative survey. Computers in Human Behavior, 57, 99-106.
Canale, N., Vieno, A., Lenzi, M., Griffiths, M.D., Borraccino, A., Lazzeri, G., Lemma, P., Scacchi, L., Santinello, M. (2017). Income inequality and adolescent gambling severity: Findings from a large-scale Italian representative survey. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 1318. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01318
Gambling Commision (2017). Commission raises awareness of potential risks for students who gamble. September 12. Located at: http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/news/2017/Commission-raises-awareness-of-potential-risks-for-students-who-gamble.aspx
Griffiths, M.D. (1995). Adolescent Gambling. London: Routledge.
Griffiths, M.D. (2002). Adolescent gambling: What should teachers and parents know? Education and Health, 20, 31-35.
Griffiths, M.D. (2002). Gambling and Gaming Addictions in Adolescence. Leicester: British Psychological Society/Blackwells.
Griffiths, M.D. (2008). Adolescent gambling in Great Britain. Education Today: Quarterly Journal of the College of Teachers. 58(1), 7-11.
Griffiths, M.D. (2013). Adolescent gambling via social networking sites: A brief overview. Education and Health, 31, 84-87.
Griffiths, M.D. (2015). Adolescent gambling and gambling-type games on social networking sites: Issues, concerns, and recommendations. Aloma: Revista de Psicologia, Ciències de l’Educació i de l’Esport, 33(2), 31-37.
Griffiths, M.D. & Calado, F. (2017). Adolescent gambling. Reference Module in Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Psychology (pp. 1-12). Oxford: Elsevier.
Griffiths, M.D. & Linsey, A. (2006). Adolescent gambling: Still a cause for concern? Education and Health, 24, 9-11.
Griffiths, M.D. & Parke, J. (2010). Adolescent gambling on the Internet: A review. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 22, 59-75.
Game on: A brief look at gambling on eSports
Like daily fantasy sports, betting on eSports (i.e., professional video gaming) has increased in popularity over the last few years and has given rise to allegations of unregulated and underage gambling. The eSports market is large. According to a 2016 report by Superdata, professional eSports is growing exponentially and is worth an estimated $612 (US) million a year. Furthermore, Eilers and Krejcik Gaming estimate that real money betting on eSports betting will reach $10 billion (US) by 2020. The professionalization and sportification of this entertainment form has brought sports-world elements to it: stadium-like facilities, cheering stands, sponsors, big rewards, and competition. Instant replays, jumbotrons (i.e., super-huge television screens), and referees add to the sport dramatisation. In some notorious cases, prizes have gone beyond the $10 million [US] threshold in a packed arena housing 73,000 fans. According to by John McMullan and Delthia Miller in a 2008 issue of the Journal of Gambling Issues, sportification is the process of incorporating the logics of sport to non-sporting contexts (e.g., poker, eSports. This can materialise in many ways but most commonly occurs when (i) other industries capitalise on the positive attributes of sport (e.g., popularity, engagement, or sanity and health inferences); and (ii) non-sport fields try to increase the entertainment and playability of their products and their association with joy and excitement.
Twitch, an online platform that streams live video gaming, informs its’ advertisers that it has 100 million monthly viewers, who watch for an average of 106 minutes a day. Betting on eSports presents new challenges. As a news report in Bloomberg news observed in relation to betting on the game Counterstrike: Global Offensive (CSGO):
“Gambling – licensed, regulated, and by adults – is generally accepted in eSports. There is growing concern, though, that teenagers are being attracted to different forms of betting facilitated by third-party providers. One such platform is CSGO Lounge (an independent site not affiliated with Valve Software, which develops the game itself). The site allows spectators to bet in-game add-ons known as skins – weapons, tools and the like – on the results of matches. Not all skins are created equal, and the rarity of some means they can cost hundreds of real dollars on marketplace sites like SkinXchange.com. The temptation is too much for some”.
Put simply, skin gambling is the use of virtual goods and items (typically cosmetic elements that have no direct influence on gameplay) as virtual currency to bet on the outcome of professional matches. The Bloomberg article also claims on the basis of interviews with industry insiders that underage skin gambling is a “huge problem”. Justin Carlson (lead developer of SkinXchange) claims there are “countless” parents whose children have used their credit cards without their knowledge to buy skins and bet on gaming on other sites. Although anecdotal, Carlson claims that some minors have “racked up hundreds or thousands of dollars in skins on ‘SkinXchange’ just to lose them all on some betting or jackpot site”. It’s clear that people trading skins in eSports has grown over the last few years and various regulators around the world – such as the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) – are considering regulation and says it is an “emerging product” and an “area for continuing future focus”. More specifically, the UKGC’s 2016 Annual Report notes:
“The growing market in esports and computer gaming has scope to present issues for regulation and player protection – issues which are being examined by gambling regulators in other international markets…These issues range from the emergence of real money esports betting markets, to trading in-game items which blur the lines between gambling and social gaming. Our focus will be to understand developments, including engaging with key stakeholders, and we will work wherever we can to ensure the risks associated with these, particularly to children and young people, are minimised”.
One of the complicating factors for eSports gambling is that while cash is the currency for many gamblers, there is a growing trend towards the use of virtual currencies, or ‘in-game items’ which, according to the UKGC, can be “won, traded, sold or used as virtual currency to gamble with and converted into money or money’s worth”. These, according to the UKGC, “include digital commodities (such as ‘skins’) which can be won or purchased within the confines of computer games and can then be used as a form of virtual currency on a growing number of gambling websites”. No academic research has examined underage skin gambling but this is an issue that is unlikely to diminish over the coming years.
It is also worth noting that this massive interest in eSports followed by a massive audience has led most major betting operators to include eSports in their daily gambling offer. However, the singularities of eSports market pose new challenges that conventional online betting sites struggle to address. Suraj Gosai, co-founder of Blinkpool, an eSports dedicated betting platform, laid out two main problems: in-play betting limitations and odds algorithmic programming. For in-play betting to be viable, companies need to get access to reliable, instantaneous, and unambiguous data that can settle bets and separate winners from losers. Data companies like Perform do that in sport, and betting operators rely on their data to offer in-play action to gamblers. The problem in eSports is that actions are not as quantified and standardised as in real-life sports. To counteract that, Blinkpool created a computer vision technology that extracts data from real-time action and promotes hyper-contextual opportunities, that is, 10- to 45-second in-play betting mini-markets concerning very specific developments in the narrative of the games.
Odds programming in sports betting is fundamentally based on historical data from hundreds of thousands of games, from which each factor (home advantage, table position, head-to-head, etc.) is weighted in to determine the probability of an event occurring. In the fixed-odds betting market, the bookmaker makes available to bettors that probability plus a benefit margin. When placing a bet, an individual bets against the probability that the house has predicted. This is not yet feasible in eSports because the historical data are scarce and the modelling is complex. Companies are circumventing this problem by offering exchange betting rather than fixed-odds. This method comprises peer betting, that is, bettors do not bet against the house but between one another. This way, the house gets a commission from winning bets and operates a much less risky business.
Dr. Mark Griffiths, Professor of Behavioural Addictions, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
Further reading
Bracken, G. (2016). We hope to be the home of eSports betting. Gambling Insider. Available from: https://www.gamblinginsider.com/in-depth/1909/we-hope-to-be-the-home-of-esports-betting
Gambling Commission (2015). Explaining our approach to social gaming. Located at: http://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/Gambling-data-analysis/Social-media/Explaining-our-approach-to-social-gaming.aspx
Gambling Commission (2016). Annual Report 2015/16. Birmingham: Gambling Commission.
McMullan, J. L., & Miller, D. (2008). All in! The commercial advertising of offshore gambling on television. Journal of Gambling Issues, 22, 230-251.
Melbourne, K. & Campbell, M. (2015). Professional gaming may have an underage gambling problem. Bloomberg, September 7. Available at: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-09-07/professional-video-gaming-has-an-underage-gambling-problem
Superdata (2016). eSports Market Report. Available at: https://www.superdataresearch.com/market-data/esports-market-brief/
Wingfield, N. (2014) In e-Sports, video gamers draw real crowds and big money. New York Times, August 30. Available from: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/technology/esports-explosion-brings-opportunity-riches-for-video-gamers.html?_r=0
Wood, J. (2016). UK Gambling Commission: We’ll work to minimize risks from emerging esports betting markets. Esports Betting Report, July 19. Available at: http://www.esportsbettingreport.com/uk-regulators-address-esports-betting/
Slots of fun: What should parents and teachers know about adolescent gambling? (Part 2)
Today’s blog is the second part of a two-part article (the first of which can be found here). The previous blog briefly examined risk factors in adolescent gamblers and signs of problem gambling in adolescents. The three lists below highlight some early warning signs of a possible gambling problem, some definite signs and a thumbnail profile of a problem gambler. This is followed by some (hopefully) helpful tips and hints.
Early warning signs of a gambling addiction
- Unexplained absences from home
- Continual lying about day-to-day movements
- Constant shortage of money
- General increase in secretiveness
- Neglect of studies, family, friends, health and appearance
- Agitation (if unable to gamble)
- Mood swings
- Loss of friends and social life
- Gambling seen as a legitimate way of making money
Signs of a definite gambling problem
- Large debts (which are always explained away)
- Trouble at school or college about non-attendance
- Unexplained borrowing from family and friends
- Unwillingness to repay borrowed money
- Total preoccupation with gambling and spending money on gambling
- Gambling alone for long periods
- Constantly chasing losses in an attempt to win money back
- Constantly gambling until all money is gone
- Complete alienation and rejection from family and friends
- Lying about the extent of their gambling to family and friends
- Committing crimes as a way of getting money for gambling or paying off debts
- Gambling overriding all other interests and obligations
Profile of the problem adolescent gambler
- Unwilling to accept reality and has a lack of responsibility for gambling
- Gambles to escape deeper problems (and the gambling environment may even be a substitute for parental affection)
- Insecure and feels inferior to parents and elders
- Wants good things without making an effort and loves games of chance
- Likes to be a ‘big shot’ and feels it’s important to win (gambling offers them status and a way of defining achievement)
- Likes to compete
- Feels guilty with losses acting as a punishing behaviour
- May be depressed
- Low self-esteem and confidence
- Other compulsive and/or addictive traits
Finally it is worth noting some of the ‘trigger’ situations and circumstances that a gambling problem might first come to light. Paul Bellringer has highlighted an array of situations that provide an opportunity to help the gambler focus on their need to change. These are:
- Acceptance by the gambler that control has been lost: This is the step before they ask for help.
- Asking for help: Having realised for themselves that gambling has taken control over their life, they may reach out to those closest to them
- Observation of too much time spent in a gambling environment: Such observations by friends or family may provoke discussion as to how this is affecting the life of a gambler.
- Getting in to financial trouble/Accumulation of debts: This might be a crisis point at which problem gambling might raise its head for the first time.
- Uncovered lies: Realization that the gambler has been caught lying may lead to admissions about their gambling problems
- Dwindling social circles/Losing close relationships: These observation may again lead to problem gambling being discovered by family or friends.
- Discovered crime: This is usually a real crisis point that the family may discover the truth for the first time.
- Homelessness: Being thrown out of the family home may be the trigger for problem gamblers to be honest for the first time about the mess they are in.
Discovering that you are the parent of an adolescent problem gambler can be highly stressful – particularly as it is often a problem that parents feel they have to face on their own. Before getting involved with their children parents have to understand the problem as well as the process of problem gambling. By the time a young gambler acknowledges they have a problem, the family may have already gone through a lot of emotional turmoil including feelings of anger, sadness, puzzlement and guilt. Parents should try and get in touch with a helping agency as soon as possible. The following points are appropriate for parents either during or as a follow-up to their initial contact with a helping agency.
- Remember that you are not the only family facing this problem.
- You may be able to help your child by talking the problem through but it is probably better if a skilled person outside the family is also involved.
- Keep in mind that it is a serious matter and that the gambler cannot “just give up”.
- Take a firm stand; whilst it might feel easier to give in to demands and to believe everything they say, this allows your child to avoid facing the problem.
- Remember that your child likes to gamble and is getting something from the activity quite apart from money.
- Do not forget that gamblers are good at lying – to themselves as well as you
- Let your child know that you believe it is a problem even though they may not admit it.
- Encourage your child all the time as they have to be motivated to change
- Be prepared to accept that your child may not be motivated to change until they are faced with an acute crisis.
- Leave the responsibility for gambling and its consequences with the gambler, but also help them to face up to it and to work at overcoming the dependency.
- Do not condemn them, as it is likely to be unhelpful and may drive them further into gambling.
- Setting firm and fair boundaries for your child’s behaviour is appropriate and is likely to be constructive in providing a framework with which to address the dependency.
- Despite what your child may have done it is important to let them know that you still love them. This should be done even if you have to make a ‘tough love’ decision such as asking them to leave home.
- Do not trust them with money until the dependency has been broken. If they are agreeable it is a helpful strategy for a defined short period of time to manage their money for them. In addition, help develop their financial management skills.
- Encourage other alternative activities. Try to identify other activities that the child is good at and encourage them in that.
- Give praise for any achievements (however small) although don’t go over the top.
- Provide opportunities to contribute to the family or the running of the house to develop responsibility.
- Try to listen with understanding and look at them with pleasure. Communication channels between child and parent can easily be blocked so simple measures can pay big dividends.
- Bear in mind that as a parent you will need support too through this long process of helping the child. You will need the support of your family and may also need additional support from a helping agency.
Having successfully broken a dependency on gambling, it is important to put in place measures that will help prevent gambling relapses. Useful strategies include the following:
- Place a limit on future gambling, or avoid gambling altogether.
- Internalise learning and avoid reverting to ingrained reactions to difficult or stressful situations.
- Watch for situations and circumstances that trigger the urge to gamble and be ready to face them.
- Nurture self-esteem – work at feeling good about yourself.
- Develop a range of interests that, preferably, meet similar needs to those that were previously being met by gambling.
- Spend time and energy working at building good human relationships.
- Reassess the significance of money and endeavour to reduce its importance in your life.
- Continue to explore, on occasion, reasons why gambling became so significant in your life.
Other more general steps that gamblers should be encouraged to do include:
- Be honest with themselves and others
- Deal with all outstanding debts
- Accept responsibility for their gambling
- Abstain from gambling while trying to break the dependency
- Talk about how gambling makes them feel
- Take one day at a time
- Keep a record of ‘gambling-free’ days
- Be positive and not give up after a ‘slip’ or a ‘lapse’
- Reward themselves after a gambling-free period
- Develop alternative interests
Parents and practitioners should also be aware that problems are likely to be avoided when the young gambler keeps in control of the situation and ensures that their gambling remains a social activity. The following brief guide is aimed particularly for working with young gamblers but applicable to everyone. It will help ensure that gambling remains an enjoyable and problem-free experience. It is wise to remember that:
- When you are gambling you are buying entertainment, not investing money
- You are unlikely to make money from gambling
- The gaming industry and the government are the real winners
- You should only gamble with money that you can afford to lose
- You should set strict limits on how much you will gamble
- To make profit from gambling you should quit when ahead
- Gambling should only take up a small amount of your time and interest
- Problems will arise if you become preoccupied with gambling
- Gambling within your means is a fun and exciting activity
- Gambling outside your means is likely to create serious problems
- You should not gamble to escape from worries or pressures
- The feeling of being powerful and in control when gambling is a delusion
- A gambling dependency is as damaging as other addictions
- Always gamble responsibly
Hopefully the two parts of this blog have highlighted a potential danger among children and adolescence. It covered risk factors, warning signs to look for, and strategies to help those with a problem. Through education and awareness, it is hoped that gambling problems will be viewed no differently from other potentially addictive substances and that schools will take the issue seriously.
Dr Mark Griffiths, Professor of Gambling Studies, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
Further reading
Bellringer, P. (1999). Understanding Problem Gamblers. London : Free Association Books.
Griffiths, M.D. (1995). Adolescent Gambling. London: Routledge.
Griffiths, M.D. (2002). Gambling and Gaming Addictions in Adolescence. Leicester: British Psychological Society/Blackwells.
Griffiths, M.D. (2003). Adolescent gambling: Risk factors and implications for prevention, intervention, and treatment. In D. Romer (Ed.), Reducing Adolescent Risk: Toward An Integrated Approach (pp. 223-238). London: Sage.
Griffiths, M.D. (2008). Adolescent gambling in Great Britain. Education Today: Quarterly Journal of the College of Teachers. 58(1), 7-11.
Griffiths, M.D. (2011). Adolescent gambling. In B. Bradford Brown & Mitch Prinstein (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Adolescence (Volume 3) (pp.11-20). San Diego: Academic Press.
Griffiths, M.D. (2013). Adolescent gambling via social networking sites: A brief overview. Education and Health, 31, 84-87.
Griffiths, M.D. & Linsey, A. (2006). Adolescent gambling: Still a cause for concern? Education and Health, 24, 9-11.
Griffiths, M.D. & Parke, J. (2010). Adolescent gambling on the Internet: A review. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 22, 59-75.
Griffiths, M.D. & Wood, R.T.A. (2000). Risk factors in adolescence: The case of gambling, video-game playing and the internet. Journal of Gambling Studies, 16, 199-225.
Slots of fun: What should parents and teachers know about adolescent gambling? (Part 1)
Research has consistently shown that a small but significant minority of adolescents have a gambling problem. It has also been noted that adolescents may be more susceptible to problem gambling than adults. In Great Britain, the most recent statistics suggest that around 2% of adolescents have a gambling problem. This figure is two to three times higher than that identified in the adult population. On this evidence, young people are clearly more vulnerable to the negative consequences of gambling than adults.
A typical finding of many adolescent gambling studies has been that problem gambling appears to be a primarily male phenomenon. It also appears that adults may to some extent be fostering adolescent gambling. For example, a strong correlation has been found between adolescent gambling and parental gambling. Similarly, many studies have indicated a strong link between adult problem gamblers and later problem gambling amongst their children. Other factors that have been linked with adolescent problem gambling include working class youth culture, delinquency, alcohol and substance abuse, poor school performance, theft and truancy.
One consequence of the research into adolescent gambling is that we can now start to put together a ‘risk factor model’ of those individuals who might be at the most risk of developing problem gambling tendencies. Based on summaries of empirical research, a number of clear risk factors in the development of problem adolescent gambling emerge. Adolescent problem gamblers are more likely to:
- Be male (16-25 years)
- Have begun gambling at an early age (as young as 8 years of age)
- Have had a big win earlier in their gambling careers
- Consistently chase losses
- Gamble on their own
- Have parents who gamble
- Feel depressed before a gambling session
- Have low self-esteem
- Use gambling to cultivate status among peers
- Be excited and aroused during gambling
- Be irrational (i.e. have erroneous perceptions) during gambling
- Use gambling as a means of escape
- Have bad grades at school
- Engage in other addictive behaviours (smoking, drinking alcohol, illegal drug use)
- Come from the lower social classes
- Have parents who have a gambling (or other addiction) problem
- Have a history of delinquency
- Steal money to fund their gambling
- Truant from school to go gambling
There are also some general background factors that might increase the risk of becoming a problem gambler. Common factors include:
- Broken, disruptive or very poor family
- Difficult and stressful situations within the home
- Heavy emphasis on money within the family
- The death of a parent or parental figure in their childhood
- Serious injury or illness in the family or themselves
- Infidelity by parents
- High incidence of abuse (verbal, physical and/or sexual)
- Feeling of rejection as a child
- Feelings of belittlement and disempowerment
This list is probably not exhaustive but incorporates what is known empirically and anecdotally about adolescent problem gambling. As research into the area grows, new items to such a list will be added while factors, signs and symptoms already on these lists will be adapted and modified. Gambling has often been termed the ‘hidden addiction’. The main reasons for this arise from the problem with the identification. This is because:
- There are no observable signs or symptoms like other addictions (e.g. alcoholism, heroin addiction etc.)
- Money shortages and debts can be explained away with ease in a materialistic society
- Adolescent gamblers do not believe they have a problem or wish to hide the fact
- Adolescent gamblers are exceedingly plausible and become adept at lying to mask the truth
- Adolescent gambling may be only one of several excessive behaviours
Although there have been some reports of a personality change in young gamblers many parents may attribute the change to adolescence itself (i.e., evasive behaviour, mood swings etc. are commonly associated with adolescence). It is quite often the case that many parents do not even realize they have a problem until their son or daughter is in trouble with the police. I have noted there are a number of possible warning signs to look for although individually, many of these signs could be put down to adolescence. However, if several of them apply to a child or adolescent it could be that they will have a gambling problem. The signs include:
- No interest in school highlighted by a sudden drop in the standard of schoolwork
- Unexplained free time such as going out each evening and being evasive about where they have been
- Coming home later than expected from school each day and not being able to account for it
- A marked change in overall behaviour (that perhaps only a parent would notice). Such personality changes could include becoming sullen, irritable, restless, moody, touchy, bad-tempered or constantly on the defensive
- Constant shortage of money
- Constant borrowing of money
- Money missing from home (e.g., from mother’s purse or father’s wallet)
- Selling personal possessions and not being able to account for the money
- Criminal activity (e.g., shoplifting in order to sell things to get money for gambling)
- Coming home hungry each afternoon after school (because lunch money has been spent on gambling)
- Loss of interest in activities they used to enjoy
- Lack of concentration
- A “couldn’t care less” attitude
- Lack of friends and/or falling out with friends
- Not taking care of their appearance or personal hygiene
- Constantly telling lies (particularly over money)
However, many of these ‘warning signs’ are not necessarily unique to gambling addictions and can also be indicative of other addictions (e.g. alcohol and other drugs). Confirming that gambling is indeed the problem may prove equally as difficult as spotting the problem in the first place. Directly asking an individual if they have a problem is likely to lead to an outright denial. Talking with them about their use of leisure time, money and spending preferences, and their view about gambling in general is likely to be more effective. Part 2 to follow in my next blog!
Dr Mark Griffiths, Professor of Gambling Studies, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
Further reading
Bellringer, P. (1999). Understanding Problem Gamblers. London : Free Association Books.
Griffiths, M.D. (1995). Adolescent Gambling. London: Routledge.
Griffiths, M.D. (2002). Gambling and Gaming Addictions in Adolescence. Leicester: British Psychological Society/Blackwells.
Griffiths, M.D. (2003). Adolescent gambling: Risk factors and implications for prevention, intervention, and treatment. In D. Romer (Ed.), Reducing Adolescent Risk: Toward An Integrated Approach (pp. 223-238). London: Sage.
Griffiths, M.D. (2008). Adolescent gambling in Great Britain. Education Today: Quarterly Journal of the College of Teachers. 58(1), 7-11.
Griffiths, M.D. (2011). Adolescent gambling. In B. Bradford Brown & Mitch Prinstein (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Adolescence (Volume 3) (pp.11-20). San Diego: Academic Press.
Griffiths, M.D. (2013). Adolescent gambling via social networking sites: A brief overview. Education and Health, 31, 84-87.
Griffiths, M.D. & Linsey, A. (2006). Adolescent gambling: Still a cause for concern? Education and Health, 24, 9-11.
Griffiths, M.D. & Parke, J. (2010). Adolescent gambling on the Internet: A review. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 22, 59-75.
Griffiths, M.D. & Wood, R.T.A. (2000). Risk factors in adolescence: The case of gambling, video-game playing and the internet. Journal of Gambling Studies, 16, 199-225.
Slots of fun? A brief overview of adolescent gambling
Last night I appeared in BBC Radio 1 documentary on gambling (“Don’t Bet On It: The Story of Young People and Gambling”) that had a specific focus on youth gambling. Having written two books on the topic, it is an area that I am highly passionate about and is an area that I will always want to do further research into. But what do we know empirically about adolescent gambling? There have been many studies examining the patterns of gambling and problem gambling among adolescents across many countries. A number of comprehensive reviews of adolescent gambling have examined the methods and results of all the adolescent prevalence surveys that have been carried out in North America (the United States and Canada), Europe and the Nordic countries, and Australasia (Australia and New Zealand).
In the United States, the prevalence of past year adolescent gambling in the only national study was 67% with a past year problem gambling rate of 1.3%. However, state-by-state across more than 20 studies show there are large variations ranging from 20% to 86% (past year adolescent gambling prevalence rates) and 0.9–5.7% (past year adolescent problem gambling prevalence rates). In Canada, there has been no national study, only provincial surveys. These have shown a past year adolescent gambling prevalence of 24–90% and a past year adolescent problem gambling rate of 2.2–8.1%.
In Europe, there have been relatively few studies of adolescent gambling and the quality is variable in terms of sample size, representativeness, and quality of data. Adolescent gambling prevalence rates have been reported for a number of countries. These include Belgium (42% lifetime prevalence), Estonia (75% lifetime prevalence), Finland (52% past year prevalence), Germany (62% past year prevalence), Great Britain (19–70% past year prevalence), Iceland (57–70% past year prevalence), Norway (74–82% past year prevalence), Romania (82% lifetime prevalence), Slovakia (27.5% lifetime prevalence), and Sweden (76% past year prevalence). Adolescent problem gambling prevalence rates have been reported for a number of countries. These include Estonia (3.4% lifetime prevalence), Finland (2.3% past year prevalence), Germany (3% past year prevalence), Great Britain (2–5.6% past year prevalence), Iceland (1.9–3.0% past year prevalence), Italy (6% past year prevalence), Norway (1.8–3.2% past year prevalence), Romania (7% lifetime prevalence), Spain (0.8%–4.6% past year prevalence), and Sweden (0.9% past year prevalence).
In Australia, there has also been no national study, only territory surveys. These have shown a past year adolescent problem gambling rate of 41–89% and a past year adolescent problem gambling rate of 1.0–4.4%. In New Zealand, the two national surveys have shown a past year adolescent gambling rate of 65–68% and past year adolescent gambling problem gambling prevalence rates of 3.8–13%.
From these reviews, a number of conclusions have been made. First, from a methodological perspective, the reviews show that school-based surveys and telephone surveys were the primary modalities used to collect data in adolescent prevalence surveys. Second, a methodological trend of increasing sample sizes over time was noted. Early adolescent gambling surveys in the late 1980s and early 1990s tended to include samples of only a few hundred whereas most recent surveys are much bigger. For instance, the five national prevalence surveys in Great Britain have typically had sample sizes of approximately 8000 or more. Third, it was noted that the most widely used problem gambling instruments are derived from adult problem gambling screens and may not be suited to assessing gambling-related problems in younger people. However, pending a better-validated problem gambling instrument for adolescents, these instruments are likely to continue to be viewed as the best approximations for the measurement of problem gambling among adolescents.
The reviews have also made a number of other generalizations. Male adolescents are more likely than female adolescents to gamble, and more likely to experience problems, a finding that is well established. However, there is no evidence that problem gambling among females indicates a more serious problem. It also appears that, while adolescents from certain ethnic groups are less likely to gamble than other adolescents (e.g., Native American and African American youth in North America, non-Francophone youth in Quebec, indigenous youth in Australia, and Pacific Island youth in New Zealand), they are more likely to gamble regularly when they do gamble and to experience problems. However, there may be other confounding variables such as socioeconomic status.
There are also other clear demographic patterns. For example, the most popular youth gambling activities tend to be private, peer-related activities such as card games and betting on sports. Older youth are more likely to engage in accessible forms of age-restricted gambling, such as lotteries. The one notable exception is in Great Britain where slot machines are legally available for adolescents to gamble on at seaside arcades and family leisure centers. Unlike most other countries, Great Britain’s adolescent problem gamblers are most likely to be experiencing gambling problems associated with slot machines. Other common demographic characteristics are that youth problem gamblers are more likely to start gambling at a younger age and to have parents who gamble.
Other research has shown that young problem gamblers are also more likely to have begun gambling at an early age, have had a big win early on in their playing career, and to be from a lower social class. In addition to the risk factors based on personal characteristics, the social and physical environment in which young people gamble and the gambling activity also play a part. Research has indicated that the most problematic and addictive gambling activities to be those (such as slot machines) that involve high event frequencies, short interval between stake and payout, near miss opportunities, a combination of very high prizes and/or frequent winning of small prizes, and suspension of judgment.
Like other potentially addictive behaviors, problem gambling in adolescence causes the individual to engage in negative behaviours. In Great Britain, research has indicated these negative behaviours include truanting in order to play the slot machines, stealing to fund slot machine playing, getting into trouble with teachers and/or parents over their machine playing, borrowing or the using of lunch money to play slot machines, poor schoolwork, and in some cases, aggressive behavior. One study demonstrated that around 4% of all juvenile crime in one English city was gambling-related based on over 1850 arrests in a one-year period.
Furthermore, teenage problem gamblers also appear to display bona fide signs of addiction including withdrawal effects, tolerance salience, mood modification, conflict, and relapse. Some young people gamble as a means of coping with everyday stresses and problems (avoidance) and as their gambling becomes more problematic so their problems, such as debt, increase and consequently their need to gamble also increases. This therefore creates a vicious circle whereby gambling behavior is experienced as both a problem and as a strategy for dealing with problems. It has also be noted that adolescent gambling is often part of a lifestyle that includes increased prevalence in many risky behaviors (such as smoking cigarettes, drinking alcohol, and taking illicit drugs).
Adolescent gambling, and more specifically adolescent problem gambling, is a cause for concern with a small but significant minority of adolescents having a severe gambling problem. Furthermore, the prevalence of problem gambling in adolescents tends to be approximately three to five times higher than that in adults (depending upon the jurisdiction and the opportunities for adolescents to gamble). This suggests that many adolescents stop gambling when they reach adulthood, although there have been no longitudinal studies to date. Retrospective reports in the literature suggest that many adolescent gamblers ‘mature out’ of gambling and that there are some events in the lives’ of older adolescent that may be triggers in spontaneous remission (such as getting a job, getting married, and birth of a child). However, these are anecdotal and further research is needed to help identify protective factors for problem gambling.
Dr Mark Griffiths, Professor of Gambling Studies, International Gaming Research Unit, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, UK
With additional input from: Dr Rachel Volberg (Gemini Research, USA), Dr Rina Gupta (McGill University, Canada), Dr Paul Delfabbro (University of Adelaide, Australia), and Dr Daniel Olason (University of Iceland, Iceland)
Further reading
Griffiths, M.D. (2002). Gambling and Gaming Addictions in Adolescence. Leicester: British Psychological Society/Blackwells.
Griffiths, M.D. (2008). Adolescent gambling in Great Britain. Education Today: Quarterly Journal of the College of Teachers. 58(1), 7-11.
Griffiths, M.D. (2011). Adolescent gambling. In B. Bradford Brown & Mitch Prinstein (Eds.), Encyclopedia of Adolescence (Volume 3). pp.11-20. San Diego: Academic Press.
Griffiths, M.D. & Parke, J. (2010). Adolescent gambling on the Internet: A review. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 22, 59-75.
Griffiths, M.D., Parke, J. & Derevensky, J. (2011). Online gambling among youth: Cause for concern? In J.L. Derevensky, D.T.L. Shek & J. Merrick (Eds.), Youth Gambling: The Hidden Addiction, pp. 125-143. Berlin: DeGruyter.
King, D.L., Delfabbro, P.H. & Griffiths, M.D. (2010). The convergence of gambling and digital media: Implications for gambling in young people. Journal of Gambling Studies, 26, 175-187.
Meyer, G., Hayer, T. & Griffiths, M.D. (2009). Problem Gaming in Europe: Challenges, Prevention, and Interventions. New York: Springer.
Volberg, R., Gupta, R., Griffiths, M.D., Olason, D. & Delfabbro, P.H. (2010). An international perspective on youth gambling prevalence studies. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 22, 3-38.