The UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) published a report, raising the red flag that children and young people in the country take part in gambling activities and situations without being explained all the risks sometimes. The report presented by the UK gambling regulatory body raises some questions about children gambling habits, especially when it comes to the impact that such activities could have on children in the long term.
As Casino Guardian reported yesterday, the number of children and young people involved in gambling has risen to half a million on a weekly basis. According to the figures included in the UKGC report, modern technology is making children easier to reach various gambling options and is providing them with the opportunity to explore these options through products including social media games, computer games, casino games, etc. However, such games usually are not so well protected as regulated forms of gambling.
The Executive Director of the UK Gambling Commission, Tim Miller, reminded that the gambling regulatory body of the UK require from gambling operators to strongly protect children and young individuals from getting access to gambling products. Mr. Miller reminded that it was of a paramount importance for the Commission to work in collaboration with both the industries and parents in order to protect children efficiently.
Key Findings of UKGC Young People and Gambling Report
The report presented by the UK gambling regulatory watchdog also included the gambling activities which are currently most-preferred by children. As the Commission revealed, most children and young people preferred bets placed between friends, purchasing scratchcards from the National Lottery or fruit machines in clubs and pubs. The common thing between these activities is the fact that all of them are normally happening at sites and venues that are not required special regulation in order to be offering gambling products or service.
According to the information included in the local gambling watchdog’s report the most popular forms of gambling among young individuals aged from 11 to 16 were fruit machines, with 4% of the children placing bets on them. A total of 3% of youngsters preferred private bets with friends, while another 3% bought National Lottery scratchcards.
As Casino Guardian revealed yesterday, the UKGC also explained that young children also prefer registering in “skin betting” websites that provide players with the chance to gamble using virtual items (also known as “skins”) as currency. Skin betting is currently popular among some video games players, who can sell them or turn them into real money.
The fact that 0.9% of young individuals between 11 and 16 years, or about 25,000, are classified as problem gamblers, and 1.3% are considered to be put at risk of becoming ones, raised serious concerns among the authorities.
The latest Young People and Gambling Report of the UK Gambling Commission revealed that a certain decline is registered in the number of youngsters between 11 and 16 years who spent money to place bets over the past week, placing an average bet of £10. Last year, the percentage of such children was 16%, while this year, it fell to 12%, which equals to approximately 370,000. On the other hand, 9% of the 11 to 16-year old children had placed bets on licensed gambling operations over the past week.
As far as types of games preferred by children and young people are concerned, a total of 11% of the 11 to 16-year olds have gambled on Internet-based games featuring gambling style for free. Another 11% of these children have placed bets with items featured at the time when they played computer or application-based games.
The UK Gambling Commission’s report also revealed that 80% of children who placed bets had their attention drawn to gambling products by adverts aired on TV, 70% saw such commercials on social networks and other 66% encountered these ads on other websites. A total of 3% of children who gambled spent money on online gambling services at least once on an annual basis, while 7% have used their parent’s account in order to place bets online, with 22% of these children doing so without permission.
- Author
Daniel Williams
