Growing up,
I regularly participated in under-age gambling.
As did most of my friends.
We played poker,
We bet on sports,
And we even gambled on football table games in the school canteen.
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I know that I get a certain buzz from gambling,
Which is fairly unmatchable in any other part of my life.
This feeling,
That takes you out of yourself,
Is the addictive element that I believe gamblers crave.
Not the winning or losing.
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We’re all addicts
I don’t know if anyone will relate to this,
But for me,
The way we approach addiction as a society,
Places each of us on a small island.
I don’t think I have ever met someone who is not, and has never been, addicted to something that has the potential to negatively impact their lives.
For some it is drugs and alcohol,
For others it is food or the gym,
And for a scarily large number of teenage boys especially,
It is gambling.
The strange thing is,
I can relate to people who struggle with gambling.
I can empathise and therefore I have no prejudices against them and instead I am much more likely to blame the ‘gambling industry’.
Whereas I can’t really relate to someone with a food addiction,
Or a heroin addiction,
And therefore, whilst I wish it wasn’t the case,
I feel like I would sub-consciously stigmatise someone with one of these vices.
Which could,
If we’re honest,
Lead to even looking down on them.
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Teenagers and Gambling
The gambling commission put out a study detailing that around 40% of 11-17 year olds have gambled in the last 12 months.
26% use their own money.
13% have gambled in the last 4 weeks.
And 5% have gambled in the last 7 days.
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I have two thoughts:
Firstly, I think the real numbers could well be significantly higher as some teenagers gamble without their parent’s knowledge and therefore may not give an honest answer to a poll.
Secondly, the percentage boys who are in the latter half of their teenager years who have gambled in the last month I would argue is far, far higher. The likelihood is even stronger if they like sports.
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As a parent, what would I do?
I actually think about this question quite a bit.
And I don’t think the answer is I would completely prevent them from gambling.
This is because,
I don’t think the problems stemming from gambling predominately arise due to a 17-year-old placing a bet on the world cup (for example).
The problems instead arise as a result of the way in which we discuss (or fail to discuss) gambling in our families, with friends and as a society.
The sheer number of gambling adverts on TV,
The arcades up and down the country without any age restrictions whatsoever, with coin machines and other gambling games,
And the generally jovial way gambling is discussed in many homes, on TV and at school,
Mean that in reality children are introduced to gambling in a nice and casual and ‘fun way from a very young age and without proper discourse and regulations in place,
Gambling very quickly turns from a fun day out at the arcade to an addiction.
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Hopefully, this newsletter can do a tiny bit in amplifying a conversation about gambling,
To an audience of parents who may overlook the proliferation of gambling in young adults.
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I hope you have a great week ahead,
Best wishes,
Joel