The office of responsible gambling in New South Wales, Australia, has launched a public awareness campaign aimed at the parents of teenagers to help protect children from gambling harm.
The NSW government said this was in response to recent research which shows that parental behaviour strongly influences teenage gambling attitudes.
The research was funded by the NSW responsible gambling fund, with The Role of Parents in Youth Gambling report finding almost 70 per cent of parents who gambled during the previous year did so in the presence of their children.
“Young people are now, more than ever, exposed to gambling via video games, advertising, watching sports and through social media so it’s vital we educate children and young people about the gambling risks,” said the director of the office of responsible gambling Alison Parkinson.
“Parents and carers have the greatest influence on youth gambling and their children’s attitudes towards it and I encourage them to monitor their children’s exposure to gaming and gambling, and to talk to them about the risks.
“Things you can do include not gambling in front of your children or teenagers, not helping them to gamble, talking to them about the risks of gambling and supervising them online.”
