As we have embarked on March Madness and an exciting season of sports competition, there is an opportunity to proactively talk about online sports betting and gambling with the teens we care about. Among other statistics, Massachusetts Department of Public Health reports:
- Gambling disorders can begin in children as young as 10 years old
- Problem gambling impacts about 4-8% of youths, compared to just 1% of adults
- By the time they get to high school, 60-80% of students reported that they gambled at least once in the past 12 months
The newly appointed Executive Director of the Massachusetts Gaming Commission Dean Serpa stated just this week, “I’m father to a 14-year-old boy. He has his little iPhone and he watches the games. I never had that sort of temptation when I was growing up, it was never an issue for me. And I was certainly never alone with a gaming instrument right in my hand. I think that measuring, monitoring and legislating on responsible gaming is probably the biggest challenge for Massachusetts now.”
Parents Magazine offers a few strategies for having a proactive conversation about gambling:
- Time it right
- Aim for short and sweet
- Start with questions
- Tailor your conversation to the teen’s personal interests
Read more about these tips in the Parents Magazine post here.