Youth gambling online: myths, realities and new understandings

Dr Jeffrey Derevensky International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviours, Canada Youth gambling online: myths, realities and new understandings

Youth online gambling: Myths, realities and new understandings Jeffrey L. Derevensky, Ph.D. Professor, School/Applied Child Psychology Professor, Psychiatry International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors McGill University www.youthgambling.com Victorian Government Responsible Gambling Awareness Week Melbourne, May 23, 2011

Problem Severity Continuum No gambling At-Risk gambling Social gambling Problem gambling Pathological gambling Compulsive gambling Disordered gambling

The new face of Internet gambling

Joe Cada, age 21, Community College dropout, winner World Series of Poker, 2009, $8.55 million

Jonathan Duhamel, age 23, University dropout, winner World Series of Poker, 2010, $8.944 million

Wagering via the Internet
Poker/card games
Casino games
Sports wagering
Reality shows
Celebrity adoptions, arrests, etc.
Any form of contest/Political race

online scratch tickets

Adolescent Internet use…

What we know about the Internet
Access is widespread
Access is inexpensive
Internet is anonymous
Internet is convenient
Internet is entertaining
Internet is used for many purposes

Prevalence Findings of Internet Wagering
Vary considerably
Dependent upon methodology used & date of study
Dependent upon population studied
Difficulties collecting data

Is Internet gambling problematic for youth and can we teach/encourage responsible gambling?

Some clinical evidence

Two Internet gambling studies

www.pokerstars.net

Frequency of Play on Internet Gambling Sites Without Money in the Past 12 Months by Gambling Severity 1 Percentage. *** p <.001. N = 2205 Internet Gambling Without Money 1 Yes ( n = 1082) No ( n = 1123) Gambling Groups*** Non Gambler n = 726 33.9 66.1 Social Gambler n = 1278 56.6 43.4 At-Risk Gambler n = 129 74.4 25.6 Probable Pathological Gambler n = 72 80.6 19.4 Total 49.1 50.9

Frequency of Play on Internet Gambling Sites With Money in the Past 12 Months by Gambling Severity 1 Percentage *13.1% males; 4.6% females are gambling on Internet N = 2292 Internet Gambling With Money 1 Yes ( n = 183) No ( n = 2109) Gambling Groups*** Non Gambler n = 745 0 100 Social Gambler n = 1333 9.5 90.5 At-Risk Gambler n = 139 21.6 78.4 Probable Pathological Gambler n = 75 34.7 65.3 Total 8.0* 92.0

Follow-up study
Montreal high-school students: N = 1113
Canadian and U.S. college and university students: N = 1273
On-line gaming newsletter link: N = 546

Use of “Demo/Practice” Sites

Gambling for Money on Internet

Gambling for Money on Internet Frequency

Internet gambling by gambling severity

Reasons Youth Gamble on Internet

A new study (Meerkamper, 2010)

National Annenberg Survey of Youth (Romer, 2010) N=835 (2008) N=596 (2010)
At least once per month
Internet gambling among males 14-17 rose from 2.7% (2008) to 6.2% (2010)
Internet gambling among females 14-17 rose from 0.5% (2008) to 1.5% (2010)

National Annenberg Survey of Youth (Romer, 2010) N=835 (2008) N=596 (2010)
Weekly
Internet gambling among males 14-17 decreased from 0.9% (2008) to 0.0% (2010)
Internet gambling among females 14-17 stayed the same at 0.0% (2008) and 0.0% (2010)
Internet gambling among females 18-22 rose from 0.0% (2008) to 1.3% (2010)

Responsible advertising???

Celebrity endorsements….

Parental behaviors….

Parental perceptions: Serious Youth Issues

Does the Internet contribute to problem gambling among youth?
There is good news and bad news
The good news:
Fewer youth than adults gamble on the Internet
The bad news:
More youth are playing on “demo/practice” sites than sites for real money
The reasons they give are “for practice”
1/3 of the youth who are gambling for money are problem gamblers
Does “practice make perfect”?
Is it just a matter of time before the “practice” players switch to gambling for real money?

Adapted from Understanding Substance Abuse Prevention: Toward 21 st Century Primer on Effective Programs (P. Brounstein & J. Zweig, 1999). Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) & Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Dickson, Derevensky, & Gupta (2002).

In retail there are three important principles: Location, Location, Location

Responsible gambling for youth: the three important principles are: education, education, education

Youth gambling online: myths, realities and new understandings

by Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation

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Youth gambling online: myths, realities and new understandings Presentation Transcript