It is hard to avoid the omnipresent advertisements for online gambling these days. Once upon a time, you had to step onto a casino floor to place a wager. Today, people can log on to betting sites in seconds.
Easy access to betting apps and the near-omnipresence of ads have changed the landscape. Online gambling is no longer a “hidden” vice. It has become a mainstream activity, and it’s ensnaring Canadian teens. Parental awareness will be essential to navigate this new terrain.
The current landscape in Canada
The rise of sports betting in Canada has reshaped how early teens are introduced to betting sites. A white paper produced by Statistics Canada in 2022 notes that “Nearly two-thirds (64.5%) of Canadians aged 15 or older (18.9 million) reported gambling in the past year.” Other sources suggest that young people may start gambling as early as 11 years old.
This is, unfortunately, to be expected. Gambling has become normalized. Betting sites and casinos are now major sponsors and partners of the major sports leagues. The National Hockey League (NHL) officially partnered with Polymarket, an online prediction market. The platform allows users to bet on anything from sports to the weather.
Sporting broadcasts now routinely provide viewers with point spreads and odds. They won’t hesitate to mention betting sites and odds calculators that explain the risks. This combination has led to more “live betting,” where viewers place wagers during the live streaming of the game. This means hockey betting has also become more normalized.
Ads and celebrity endorsement
Gambling has also gained credibility through celebrity and athlete endorsements. Nationally, there is a code for responsible gaming advertising. It sets standards that aim to protect minors, but the standards are voluntary with enforcement mechanisms. Ontario has its own regulations, but there are loopholes. Regardless, many of those restrictions are moot. Most ads that teens see are not based in Canada or held to the same standards.
Gateway to gambling
Often, children are being exposed to gambling, and parents are not even aware of it. In some cases, parents may even be unwittingly supporting it. Online games now provide our kids a gateway to gambling in the form of Loot boxes. Loot boxes are in-game purchases that offer randomized virtual items.
Popular games our teens play, such as Roblox, Fortnite, and EA Sports, feature loot boxes. Game makers love them because they generate seemingly endless revenue. Kids love them since they have the chance to win special in-game rewards. Since loot boxes offer only a chance of winning, our kids often experience many of the same sensations as gamblers.
How kids gain access
The lottery and gaming landscape in Canada is a patchwork of provincial corporations. Each is tasked with preventing minors from gambling. The legal age to gamble in Alberta, Manitoba, and Quebec is 18. In the rest of Canada, that number is 19. Except for lottery tickets in Ontario, where 18-year-olds can legally buy them, but enforcement can be difficult.
Across the provinces, online gaming platforms are required to verify users. Names, addresses, and dates of birth are used to verify who is playing. They also use geolocation technology. This verifies that the person accessing their site is physically in the province. Here’s the thing: many of those checks can be bypassed.
Teens could use fake, borrowed or stolen ID to gamble under an unwitting family member’s name. Or they could simply choose to gamble offshore. Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN), or “spoofing” software, can give them access to apps right from the Play Store. These tools can mask one’s location, rendering geolocation useless.
Various digital payment options are another way around restrictions. Prepaid credit cards, debit cards and digital wallets all make it harder for parents to spot transactions. This can be an issue when those transactions are gambling-related.
Why it’s so tempting
The appeal of “free” or “easy” money may not be the only reason why our teens can be susceptible to gambling. A teen’s brain is still developing. The areas of the brain associated with logic and impulse control may not fully develop until our children are in their mid-20s.
Many people are familiar with the idea of the “gambler’s high.” A term to describe the release of dopamine (the feel-good chemical) when they win. Everyone has experienced that feeling, if not from gambling, from something else. What’s not so well known is that gamblers may also get that exhilarating feeling even when they lose. Many games are designed to create “near miss” scenarios. Those can also trigger dopamine, creating a desire to keep playing.
Online gaming has the added advantage of being able to track users’ behaviour and use it to keep them playing. They may use elements of gamification that increase the player’s enjoyment and engagement. Allowing them to win when they are on a losing streak and about to quit. Another common technique is to give players free play credits. Those credits are used to “hook” new players with a welcome bonus or entice old players to come back.
Debt, stress, and relationships
While it can be a form of leisure and entertainment when engaged in responsibly by adults, there really isn’t any upside to gambling for teens. There is evidence that children introduced to gambling at an early age are more likely to be harmed by gambling later in life.
When gambling turns problematic, it can lead to serious problems. The potential for sports betting apps to become active is real. That, combined with young people’s limited access to their own finances, can manifest as financial abuse, such as stealing their parents’ credit cards to enable their gambling habit.
Damage to the family’s credit and financial stability may be just the start. Teens who start down this path may also risk damaged credit, debt, trouble managing money, and strained relationships.
The parents’ playbook: Prevention and recovery
If you have identified a problem with gambling, it is best to seek help from professionals. Consider financial therapy to address the emotional roots of the addiction. Or, start a no-spend challenge to reset the teen’s relationship with money.
The best strategy to manage risk is to maintain an open relationship with your children. Encouraging them to talk to you about problems. Be proactive. Teach your kids about the probability of winning at games of chance, like those on betting sites. Help them understand probability, betting odds, and why the house usually wins. Also, give them practical money-management skills to build a foundation.
It is far easier to build a financially literate child than deal with the consequences of one who isn’t.
