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 PsychologyProfessor, Psychiatry

International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behaviors

McGill Universitywww.youthgambling.com

Victorian Government Responsible Gambling Awareness Week

Melbourne, May 23, 2011

Problem Severity Continuum

No gambling

At-Risk

gambling

Social g

ambling

Problem gamblin

g

Pathologica

l gamblin

g

Compulsive gamblin

g

Disord

ered

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 Moneyin the Past 12 Months by Gambling Severity

N = 2205

Internet Gambling Without Money1

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

1Percentage. ***p<.001.

Frequency of Play on Internet Gambling Sites With Moneyin the Past 12 Months by Gambling Severity

N = 2292

Internet Gambling With Money1

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

1Percentage *13.1% males; 4.6% females are gambling on Internet

Types of Internet Gambling Activities by Gambling Group

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

Roulette Blackjack SportsBetting

Slotmachines

Cards Maj Jong StockMarket

Games

Fre

qu

ency

%

Social Gambler

At-Risk Gambler

Probable Pathological

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

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Fre

qu

en

cy %

Male Female

High School

College/University

Internet Sample

Gambling for Money on Internet

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Fre

qu

en

cy

%

Male Female

High School

College/University

Internet Sample

Gambling for Money on Internet Frequency

010

2030

40

5060

70

8090

100

Fre

qu

en

cy

%

never less thanonce amonth

monthly weekly

High School

College/University

Internet Sample

Internet gambling by gambling severity

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

Fre

qu

en

cy

%

Non-gambler Social gambler Problem gambler

High School

College/University

Internet Sample

Reasons Youth Gamble on Internet

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

Gamediversity

High speedplay

Bonuses Competition Convenience Privacy Anonymity Don't need toleave house

Good odds Fair/reliablepayouts

24-houraccessibility

Internet sample 18-24

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 males 18-22 rose from 4.4% (2008) to 16.0% (2010)

• Internet gambling among females 14-17 rose from 0.5% (2008) to 1.5% (2010)

• Internet gambling among males 18-22 rose from 0.0% (2008) to 4.4% (2010)

Responsible advertising???

Celebrity endorsements….

Parental behaviors….

40%

60%

64%

64%

66%

66%

73%

75%

81%

81%

82%

87%

Gambling (13)

Depression (12)

Excessive video game playing (10)

Negative body image (10)

Spending too much time online (8)

Obesity, eating disorders (8)

Smoking (7)

Violence in schools, bullying (6)

Unsafe sexual activities (3)

Drinking and driving (3)

Alcohol use (2)

Drug use (1)

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?

In retail there are three important principles:

Location, Location, Location

Responsible gambling for youth: the three important principles are:

education, education, education