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Gambling

Overview

Gambling involves staking or risking money, or anything of value, on the outcome of something involving chance. As a general rule, the minimum legal age for gambling in the UK is 18 years old. This applies to adult gaming centres, betting shops, bingo halls, casinos, race tracks and online gambling. The exceptions to this are the National Lottery and scratch cards – you’re allowed to take part in these from the age of 16.

Problem gambling is often described as a hidden addiction and some people may have gone to great lengths to hide this. Gambling can impact on:

• Young People’s emotional health and wellbeing. The process of fixed odds on-line betting produces dopamine, whether the bets are won or lost, the addictive behaviour can be caused through chasing the dopamine high and can play havoc with the developing brain, contributing to impulsive decision making. Some suicides by young people have been linked to gambling.
• Relationships with people around them through hiding.
the behaviour and its consequences, including anxiety and
• Finances, creating debt and associated anxiety.

Key Facts

It is common for gambling habits to develop in adolescence when the limbic (instinctive) brain is stimulated by the hormones released when taking a risk, and the pre-frontal cortex (thinking brain) that inhibits poor decisions is underdeveloped. Gambling Commission Research on young people 11-16, 2017 found that:

Gambling participation

• 12% of 11-16 year olds had spent their own money on gambling in the past week (that is, the seven days prior to completing the survey), down from 16% in 2016
• This compared to 16% who had drunk alcohol in the past week, 5% who had smoked cigarettes and 3% who had used drugs
• The most prevalent forms of gambling in the past week are fruit machines (4%), private bets with friends (3%) and National Lottery scratch cards (3%)
• 9% of 11-16 year olds had spent their own money on licenced gambling (i.e. where either the operator or the premises requires a licence) in the past week
• Young people who have gambled in the past week spent an average of £10 on gambling during this period

Online participation

• 3% of 11-16 year olds have spent their own money on online gambling (no change since 2016) while 7% have gambled online using a parent’s account
• 11% have played free gambling-style social games online
• 11% have bet with in-game items when playing computer or app-based games

Initial experience of gambling

• On average, young people were 12 years old when they gambled for the first time
• Among those who had ever gambled for money who could remember the first activity they gambled on, the most common initial activities were fruit machines (24%), National Lottery scratch cards (21%) and placing a private bet for money (11%)

Gambling advertising and social media

• 80% of young people have seen gambling adverts on TV, 70% on social media and 66% on other websites
• 10% follow gambling companies on social media

Problem gambling and gambling-related harm

• 0.9% of 11-16 year olds are classified as ‘problem’ gamblers, 1.3% as ‘at risk’ and 15.5% as non-problem gamblers
• 62% agree that gambling is dangerous, but only 8% agree that gambling is an easy way to make money and only 3% agree that most people their age gamble
• Among 11-16 year olds who stated that they had gambled in the past 12 months, 13% had felt bad due to their own gambling at some stage during this period
• Among 11-16 year olds who live with family or household members who gamble, 28% had felt bad as a result of this behaviour at some point during the past 12 months
• 39% of young people stated that their parents had discussed the problems that gambling can lead to with them

Best Practice

ASK (Taken from the Lie/Bet screening tool)

• Have you ever had to lie to people important to you about how much you gambled?
• Have you ever felt the need to bet more and more money?

ASSIST

• Do you believe that your gambling could be impacting on your relationships with people who are important to you?
• Have you ever felt anxious, worried, guilty or depressed about gambling?
• Have you done anything in that past that has helped you to limit your gambling, what aspects worked for you?
• Have you tried to set a limit on what you make available to bet, how has this gone for you?
• Have you thought about using self-exclusion for bookmakers or online gambling sites, would you like some information on this?
• There are a range of people and organisations that can help, would you like me to provide some information for you?

Resources

GamCare Youth Services

Tel: 0808 8020 133

Web: https://www.bigdeal.org.uk

Youth Outreach: http://www.gamcare.org.uk/register-youngpeople-training

Young people may be problem gamblers themselves or affected by another person’s gambling. Our full treatment services are offered to anyone 16 years or older, available through our regional partner networks.

Young people of any age can speak to our specially trained advisers on our helpline and net line and use our information and activities on bigdeal.org.uk

GamCare will has a Youth Outreach Hub in Hull and the surrounding areas. This offers free workshops for schools and youth groups, and free CPD training for youth-facing professionals.

BeGambleAware

The BeGambleAware website has a short series of questions to complete if someone is concerned about their gambling. This has direct link to help, support and advice about problem gambling. The National Gambling Helpline can be contact on 0808 8020 133 https://www.begambleaware.org/gambling-problems/do-ihave-a-gambling-problem/

The National Gambling Helpline

Tel: 0808 8020 133

The Helpline provides confidential advice, information and emotional support to anyone experiencing problems with gambling.

Available 8am to midnight, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

NetLine

The NetLine provides confidential advice, information and emotional support to anyone experiencing problems with gambling. The NetLine is an online text ‘chat’ service, where the ‘caller’ and advisor talk by typing to each other. This is offered on a one to one basis. The service can accessed via a smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop PC. As well as reading what the adviser types, the adviser can also send the caller documents and links to read later.

Available 8am to midnight, seven days a week, 365 days a year on the GamCare website.

GamCare Forum

The GamCare Forum is an online message board, providing a safe and secure space for users (who may be gamblers or their partners, friends and family) to share experiences, thoughts and feelings about problem gambling. Although the Forum is moderated by the GamCare Team, it is designed first and foremost for people to come together in similar situations, working through similar concerns and problems.

Available 24/7 via the GamCare website, 365 days a year.

GamCare Chatroom

GamCare run regular online Chatroom sessions, where users can use live text chat to talk about issues related to problem gambling.

Each session is moderated by a GamCare Adviser, who is welcoming and on hand to ensure that the Chatroom is a welcoming, friendly, safe and supportive environment.

Available at least once a day, 7 days a week via the GamCare website.

National self-exclusion schemes

New multi-operator schemes are being introduced across the five main sectors of the gambling industry to allow individuals to exclude themselves from each of those forms of gambling across the whole of Great Britain.

Web: http://optintoselfexclude.info/

Individual gambling sectors self-exclusion schemes

Bookmakers, Casinos’, Bingo venues and Arcades also offer exclusion schemes for more information visit: https://www.begambleaware.org/stay-in-control/how-to-self-exclude/

Online sector self-exclusion and blocking software

students would need to contact each of the companies with which they hold an account. This can usually be done on the responsible gambling pages of the website.

Email addresses and telephone numbers for online gambling companies that are part of the Remote Gambling Association are available here: https://www.rga.eu.com/about-us/

If you are worried about online gambling then you can download a ‘site blocker’, which can block access to on line gambling sites. You can find further information on blocking software here: http://www.gamcare.org.uk/get-advice/what-can-you-do/blockingsoftware