New Research on Impact of Gambling on Young People
London-based independent charity GamCare has published a new survey focused on young people under 18. According to their data, 71% of the underage young people who asked for help via the National Gambling Helpline needed support concerning their own gambling habits.
1/5 of the same age group needed GameCare’s expertise to help their relatives or friends. Unfortunately, almost 10% of those young people matched the GamCare checklist of irresponsible gambling risks.
More than 1/3 of underage people that contacted GamCare for support betted skins for popular esports and games. Overall, National Gambling Helpline and other contacting channels were used to alert about gambling problems by 353 underage people from the UK during the last year.
BigDeal is the new support platform from GamCare designed specifically for young people who seek support for themselves or people close to them. The other interested parties on the issue, for example, parents, relatives, professionals who interact with young people can also find relevant information on BigDeal.
Chief Executive Officer of GamCare, Ms. Anna Hemmings explains the reasons behind the decision to launch BigDeal:
“Since lockdown, we’ve not only heard stories from our helpline that reveal young people are increasingly experiencing more parental gambling but there is also rising concern for potential harms to young people who gamble themselves. That’s why we hope Big Deal will be a resource that speaks to young people in plain terms on the core issues related to gambling, the harms they could encounter, plus how they can get further support from our helpline.”
GamCare representatives suggest starting to solve the gambling issues among young and underage people at schools by introducing gambling education in the country’s school syllabus.