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Adolescent
Gambling
The next generation is
the first in modern American history to grow up in an era when gambling
is legally sanctioned and culturally approved. Tragically, adolescents
have proven extremely susceptible to the enticements of gambling
and are becoming hooked at rates even greater than their adult counterparts.
Scholars and researchers caution that we may only be seeing the
"tip of the iceberg," and that the seeds of destruction
being sown in these young lives today portend immense individual
and cultural devastation as we enter the 21st century.
- A 1997 survey
of 12,000 sixth- through twelfth-graders in Louisiana found that
86 percent had gambled. Almost six percent of the students surveyed
by the Louisiana State University Medical School researchers met
the criteria for pathological gambling, while 16 percent could
be classified as problem gamblers. (James Westphal, Jill Rush,
and Lee Stevens, "Preliminary Report on the Statewide Baseline
Survey for Pathological Gambling and Substance Abuse, Louisiana
Adolescents (6th Through 12th Grades) School Year 96-97, Department
of Psychiatry, Louisiana State University Medical Center School
of Medicine in Shreveport, June 30, 1997.)
- A survey
of Atlantic City high school students showed that 64 percent had
gambled at the city's casinos. Twenty-one percent reported visiting
the casinos more than 10 times. (Alan F. Arcuri, David Lester,
and Franklin O. Smith, "Shaping Adolescent Gambling Behavior,"
Adolescence, Winter 1985, p.936.)
- In 1995,
New Jersey casinos reported ejecting nearly 26,000 underage persons
some time after they had managed to enter the casinos. Another
136,000 juveniles attempted to enter the casinos but were prevented
from doing so. ("Juvenile Suspected Underage Report: January
to December 1995," New Jersey Casino Control Commission.)
- Howard Shaffer,
director of the Center for Addiction Studies at Harvard Medical
School, conducted a meta-analysis of youth gambling studies in
North America. Shaffer concluded that the rate of problem gambling
for youths ranged between 9.9 percent and 14.2 percent, while
an additional 4.4 percent to 7.4 percent were already exhibiting
compulsive gambling behaviors. (Howard J. Shaffer and Matthew
N. Hall, "Estimating the Prevalence of Adolescent Gambling
Disorders: A Quantitative Synthesis and Guide Toward Standard
Gambling Nomenclature," Journal of Gambling Studies, Summer
1996, p.193.)
- University
of Minnesota researchers found that 52 percent of underage Minnesota
youths surveyed had gambled on legal gambling activities. (Ken
C. Winters, Randy D. Stinchfield, and Leigh G. Kim, "Monitoring
Adolescent Gambling in Minnesota," Journal of Gambling Studies,
Summer 1995, p.179.)
- The Massachusetts
Attorney General's office conducted a sting operation in which
66 percent of minors were able to place bets on Keno games. The
sting tested compliance at 90 different locations and involved
adolescents as young as 14. The minimum legal age to gamble on
Keno in Massachusetts is 18. (Scott Harshbarger, Attorney General,
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Kids and Keno Are a Bad Bet:
A Report on the Sale of Keno Tickets to Minors in Massachusetts,"
October 8, 1996.) An earlier survey by the Massachusetts Attorney
General's office found that 80 percent of minors in Massachusetts
were able to purchase lottery tickets. (Scott Harshbarger, Attorney
General, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, "Report on the Sale
of Lottery Tickets to Minors in Massachusetts," July 1994.)
- In studies
of gambling behaviors among high school students, one in 10 report
committing illegal acts to obtain gambling money or to pay gambling
debts. (Durand F. Jacobs, "Illegal and Undocumented: A Review
of Teenage Gambling and the Plight of Children of Problem Gamblers
in America," in Compulsive Gambling: Theory, Research and
Practice, Howard Shaffer (editor),(Lexington, Mass.: Lexington
Books, 1989), p.256.)
- The national
1-800-GAMBLER helpline received nearly 76,000 calls in 1995; 12
percent of callers were under the age of 21. ("1995 Statistics
for 1-800-GAMBLER Helpline," Council on Compulsive Gambling
of New Jersey, March 20,1996.)
- A survey
of high school students in Massachusetts found that 5 percent
had been arrested for a gambling-related offense. The survey further
found that 10 percent of students reported experiencing family
problems because of their gambling, 8 percent had gotten in trouble
at work or school due to their gambling activities, and 13 percent
reported being unable to stop gambling when they wanted. (Howard
J. Shaffer, "The Emergence of Youthful Addiction: The Prevalence
of Underage Lottery Use and the Impact of Gambling," Massachusetts
Council on Compulsive Gambling, January 13, 1994, p.12.)
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