Talk to teens about the risk of gambling

With another school year begun, the Wisconsin Council on Problem Gambling (WCPG) is urging parents to take some time and talk to their children about the risk factors of gambling.

“Parents and others should be aware, that teens and young adults are among the highest risk groups for developing gambling problems,” said Rose Blozinski, WCPG executive director. “Youth rates of being at risk for problem gambling are two to three times higher than adult rates.

Parents should talk to their middle school and high school age kids, as well as those in college.

“The independence of campus living may be an inducement to gamble for some college students,” said Blozinski. “But the seeds are often sown at a much earlier age. Awareness is an important part of heading off problems, before they get too far. Athletes are at high risk for sports gambling, because of their competitive personalities, need for action and excitement, perception of social norms and sense of entitlement.”

As families prepared for the start of the school year, the WCPG staff also geared up for another year of reaching out to students, across Wisconsin. The WCPG has an outreach speaker who will go into schools/colleges, to provide an interactive, age appropriate presentation on the topics such as understanding odds and randomness, definition of gambling, skill vs. chance, signs of problem gambling and harm reduction strategies.

The following are some key questions to address, to determine if gambling has become a problem for a young person or anyone else:

• Is gambling the most exciting activity in your life?

• Are you preoccupied with thoughts of gambling?

• Do you miss school, activities, work or other events because of gambling?

• Do you borrow money to gamble?

• Has your gambling ever caused problems at home?

• Have you stolen from your family, roommate, friends or others to gamble or to pay back a gambling debt?

• Have you sold personal belongings to finance your gambling?

• After losing, do you gamble more to try to win your money back?

If someone has a gambling problem, call the WCPG helpline, at 1-800-426-2535, text at 1-850-888-4673, or live chat, through the WCPG website, at wi-problemgamblers. org.