Parents helping underage kids gamble, Australian study finds
Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.
At a glance
News
Sources not specified
Context piece
- A study found that parental behavior significantly contributes to teenage gambling in Australia, with 600,000 teens gambling annually.
- Researchers identified parental facilitation, such as discussing wins or placing bets for teens, as a major factor in adolescent gambling problems.
- The study suggests lax regulations and widespread gambling advertising have normalized the practice in Australia, leading to high gambling rates.
Parental behavior plays a significant role in the high rates of teenage gambling in Australia, where an estimated 600,000 individuals under 18 gamble each year. Research from CQUniversity's Appleton Institute and Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory highlights how parents inadvertently encourage or endorse gambling among their children.
These are things like parents talking about their own gambling wins, asking their teenager to pick numbers for the Lotto or Keno.
The study, published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction and the Journal of Gambling Studies, identified specific facilitative behaviors. These include parents sharing stories of their own gambling successes, asking teenagers to pick lottery numbers, placing sports or racing bets for them, or even allowing teens to use their own online gambling accounts. Author Cassy Dittman noted that these actions were found to be relatively common.
It was even things like putting on a bet for their teenager for sports or racing events, or even allowing the teenagers to use their own online account to gamble.
Dr. Dittman emphasized that the extent of parental facilitation directly correlates with a teenager's likelihood of gambling and developing risky or problematic gambling behaviors. "That parental facilitation gambling came out above and beyond as the strongest factor in predicting adolescent gambling problems," she stated, expressing surprise at the strength of this effect.
And that was something we found was relatively common among parents.
Morgan Harrington, research manager at the Australia Institute, linked these parental attitudes to a broader "normalization" of gambling in Australia. He cited the saturation of gambling advertising and the accessibility of online gambling as contributing factors to a cultural shift where gambling is increasingly viewed as a normal part of everyday life. Harrington criticized Australia's regulations as lax, arguing that they have allowed this culture to evolve, despite Australians being among the world's most prolific gamblers, losing an estimated $35 billion annually.
That parental facilitation gambling came out above and beyond as the strongest factor in predicting adolescent gambling problems.
DistantNews Editorial
Originally published by ABC Australia in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.
More Stories
From Our Blog
What Gets Lost (and Found) When News Is Translated
The Critical Role of Diaspora Media in Global News
What Travellers Should Know About Countries with Restricted Press
A Digital Nomad's Guide to Following Local News
How the Same Story Looks Different in Different Countries
