The UK Gambling Commission has called for greater collaborative efforts to protect children, after a report showed that 11 to 16-year-olds are more likely to gamble than drink or smoke.
This year’s Young People and Gambling report revealed that gambling participation within this age group had increased in the past 12 months, with 14 per cent spending their own money on gambling – up from 12 per cent in 2017, but lower than in previous years. This compares to 13 per cent who drink alcohol, four per cent who smoke and two per cent who take illegal drugs.
The regulator wants regulators and businesses across industries to work together, but the research also shows the important influence parents can have on children’s gambling behaviour. Only 19 per cent of children said their parents had set strict rules about gambling.
Last week, the Commission found there were serious failures in stopping children playing on gaming machines in pubs. In September, 17 global gambling regulators teamed up with the Commission to work together to address the risks created by the blurring of lines between video games, social gaming and gambling.
Tim Miller, executive director at the Gambling Commission, said: “Protecting children from the harms that can come from gambling remains one of our highest priorities. In the areas we have regulatory control, we continue to strengthen the protections in place to prevent underage gambling, such as our recent proposals for enhanced age verifications checks for online gambling.
“But regulation alone cannot address all of the risks that young people may face from gambling. Our latest research shows that the most common forms of gambling by children do not happen in gambling premises. Some of these are legal, such as bets between friends; some of these are unlawful, such as gambling on machines in pubs. But all of them present risks to young people as there is no form of gambling that is risk-free.
“It is therefore vital that all those with a part to play in protecting children and young people – parents, businesses and regulators – work together.”
