As young people increasingly have access and exposure to online gambling, only one in four parents say they have talked to their teen about some aspect of virtual betting, a national poll suggests.
But over half of parents aren’t aware of their state’s legal age for online gambling and one in six admit they probably wouldn’t know if their child was betting online, according to a University of Michigan poll.
“Teens and young adults may have a difficult time going into a casino unnoticed but they have easy access to a variety of betting and gambling options,” said Mott Poll co-director Sarah Clark, M.P.H.
“This expanded accessibility has increased exposure to the risks of underage betting, but there is little regulation or conversation around this problem,” said Clark.
The C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health asked a national sample of parents of teens 14-18 years about online betting.
One-third of parents (31%) say that they or another adult in their household participate in online, in-person, or social betting, and 63% say they have seen or heard ads for online sports or casino betting in the past year.
Over half of parents (55%) do not know their state’s legal age for online betting. Two-thirds of parents (67%) think the legal age for online betting should be 21 years, while 22% think age 18-20 years; 11% feel online betting should not be legal at any age.
Only 2% of parents think their teen has used an online betting platform, which was higher among parents of teen boys than girls (3% vs 0.4%).
Most parents (55%) think they would definitely know if their teen was betting online; 30% think they might know and 16% think they would probably not know. Two-thirds of parents (69%) report their teen has a bank account, debit card and/or credit card in their own name.
One-quarter of parents (25%) have talked with their teen about some aspect of online betting, including risks (18%), why they are against it (12%), why there are so many ads (4%) and how to win (2%).
Many parents are uncertain whether online betting is more addictive than in-person gambling at a casino (44% agree, 12% disagree, 45% unsure), that social betting makes youth more likely to engage in online betting (45% agree, 14% disagree, 42% unsure), or that it’s too easy for teens to open an online betting account (29% agree, 8% disagree, 63% unsure).
Parents feel the risks of online betting for youth or young adults are that they will get into debt (83%), develop a gambling addiction (77%), or ruin their credit score (51%), or that online betting may lead to drug or alcohol abuse (27%).
Strategies that parents feel would be very effective in minimizing the risks of online betting for youth or young adults include restricting betting after a certain amount is lost (43%), offering a “parent view” option to monitor online betting accounts (38%), verifying legal age with photo ID to open an online betting account (33%), limiting the amount that can be bet within a certain timeframe (33%), and paying treatment costs for youth or young adults who develop gambling addictions (25%).
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