BUFFALO, N.Y. \u2014 A study by Common Sense Media found adolescent boys are being lured into gambling with 36% of boys aged 11 to 17 saying they had gambled in the past year. It\u2019s happening on their favorite video games, and in ways we might not expect.<\/p>\n
\u201cQuite frankly, there is an epidemic of underage gambling in the United States,\u201d said Jim Steyer, founder and CEO of Common Sense Media. \u201cAnd this is a crisis, particularly for boys ages 11 and 17.\u201d<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
Nearly one in four boys participate in game-based activities, like loot boxes or skins, that mimic gambling
\nSocial media algorithmic recommendations are one reason why per Common Sense Media’s study “Betting on Boys: Understanding Gambling Among Adolescent Boys”
\nIn the long term, it’s said this can impact their mental health, and even potentially lead to substance use problems<\/p>\n
Jim Steyer is the founder and CEO of Common Sense Media, which published a study called\u00a0“Betting on Boys: Understanding Gambling Among Adolescent Boys<\/a>.”\u00a0The organization surveyed more than 1,000 adolescent boys across the United States in July of last year, and found that 36% of boys gambled in the last year, with that number ranging from nearly a third of 11-year-olds to nearly half of 17-year-olds.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s actually shocking and disgusting,\u201d Steyer said.<\/p>\n Steyer says nearly one in four boys participate in game-based activities, like loot boxes or skins, that mimic gambling.<\/p>\n \u201cYou’re seeing 11- and 12-year-olds,\u201d Steyer said. \u201cMore than a third of them are now online gambling, probably without their parents’ knowledge, although in some cases they have to use their parent’s credit card to pay for their losses.\u201d<\/p>\n The study found a big reason behind it: algorithmic recommendations.<\/p>\n \u201cSixty percent of boys see gambling ads on YouTube and social media platforms,\u201d Steyer said.<\/p>\n \u201cAdolescent boys are drawn to more competitive platforms,\u201d said Sarah W., an assistant program director for the Lower West Side Counseling Center, who oversees the Problem Gambling Program for\u00a0BestSelf Behavioral Health. \u201cSo sports video gaming, things like that. And that’s where most of these, like, gambling mechanisms are showing up. So these, these boys whose brains aren’t fully developed yet are being exposed, and basically having gambling normalized.\u201d<\/p>\n She explains how that risk-reward behavior impacts young brains.<\/p>\n \u201cGambling affects the same pathways in the brain as substance use,\u201d Sarah said. \u201cSo when an adolescent or an adult is gambling, that pathway is activated, releasing that dopamine.\u201d<\/p>\n She adds that in children and young adults, parts of the brain that govern impulse control, long-term decision-making, and understanding consequences aren\u2019t fully developed.<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s the scariest part, is that a lot of kids don’t realize that the behaviors that they’re engaging in and what they’re playing online or in video games is essentially gambling,\u201d Sarah said.<\/p>\n As a boy mom, she\u2019s learning it goes beyond the computer screen, too.<\/p>\n \u201cEven Pok\u00e9mon, if you want to buy a pack of Pok\u00e9mon cards, you might not get the card that you want, but are you willing to spend another $7, another $8?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n This is where the money chat comes in \u2014 never spend what you don\u2019t have, and have your child spend their own money.<\/p>\n \u201cThey’re taking it out of their little piggy bank, they can kind of get a better understanding of, \u2018Oh, that was $8, I don\u2019t really want to lose that again,\u2019 \u201d Sarah said.<\/p>\n Sarah says that if their vocabulary includes odds and betting; you see their mood is changing after playing; or they keep asking for money, maybe it\u2019s time to step away from the screen.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are serious long-term consequences to gambling,\u201d Sarah said. \u201cIt can affect their mental health overall. It can even potentially lead to substance use problems.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cBut in the end of the day, this is a crisis that we don’t need, and we all, as parents and educators, and citizens, need to stand up to the gambling industry,” Steyer said. “Period. Full stop.\u201d<\/p>\n And some states are. Steyer says in California, the\u00a0\u201cProtecting Our Kids from Gambling Addiction Act\u201d<\/a>\u00a0has been recently introduced. It prohibits operators from providing gambling or predictive market wagering to minors, among other stipulations.\u00a0<\/p>\n