Gambling addiction is said to be one of the most delicate and complicated problems of the contemporary society and despite being underestimated by the authorities in some countries, some other spend billions in fighting the devastating effects gambling addiction has on the physical and mental condition of the addicts as well as the social issues it imposes – lack of job, lack of money and tendency for developing another bad habit.
However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel and some Australian scientists are convinced that they have almost found a solution to the gambling addiction issues.
According to them, kids shouldn’t be kept uninformed. On the contrary – they should be aware of the risks the gambling addiction poses from a very young age.
An unusual venture was started by the Maths Association of Victoria. Authorities are now searching for six schools, willing to take part in their project, which includes a special program with 9 disciplines. These disciplines will cover various aspects of the addiction problems. Students will discuss the probability of becoming addicts as well as the impact the advertisements have on the public attitudes, the methods for solving such a problem within the family etc.
Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation supports the project of the Math Association. Dr. Ian Lowe, the head researcher, was given the sum of $49,000 with the aim of investigating the impact the Maths and English lessons may have on teenagers and how they can be protected from gambling issues when they get of age when they will be allowed to make bets.
Dr Lowe commented that even though gambling is prohibited for citizens under 18, teenagers are enabled to take part in different gambling activities via their tablets or smartphones. Some teenagers even use their parents’ credit cards to deposit funds to gaming websites.
Statistics show that more than 80% of teenagers have already taken part in gambling activities and 5% of underaged residents can be categorised as “problematic gamblers”.
According to another survey, a quarter of the teenagers have played video games, which resemble casino games. One out of ten underaged people have played a gambling game in a social media via their smartphones.
The Responsible Gambling Foundation has concluded that the more widespread the gambling activities are, the more dangerous they are to the young people who can not realise the risks they are exposed to.
The interesting project of Dr Lowe is supposed to determine if teenagers who have a higher education are more likely to realize the hazards the unwise gambling brings about. In order to be successful, the project has to raise the awareness of the students and make them understand that all sorts of gambling activities – pokies, sports betting, horses, should be limited.
Schools that would like to take part in the intriguing survey and help their students feel safe while participating in gambling activities, should contact Dr Lowe and enroll in the program that will start at the beginning of next year.
