From the Supreme Court of the United States They eliminated the legal barriers that had prohibited states from allowing the game, about 31 now allow sports bets on telephones or websites, and seven states have authorized the online casinos game. The result of this legal change “is a crisis, an epidemic or financial interruption disorder, especially for young men,” writes Jonathan Cohen, author or “Lose Big: The reckless commitment of the United States about sports game.“
Nearly half Or people from 18 to 49, or 22 percent of all Americans, have an active sports betting account, according to the Siena Research Institute. A survey Made by the Farleight Dickinson University, he found that in the percentage or between 18 and 30 they can be problematic players, a function of the availability of online bets in sports machines and slot. The minors are also increasing. The largest demographic group that calls the direct lines of gambling are teenagers and young adults, and Yale Medicine information That many problems begin when players are teenagers. Players that start Young They are more likely to develop a problem in adulthood. While bets can be another form of entertainment for many, those with a problem have a higher suicide rate than alcoholics or drug addicts. In addition, the Journal of Pediatrics reported that the minors game is bound to substance abuse.
“If you think your child is not playing, or it is an exception or you are cheating yourself,” Cohen told me. “Your son, if he plays video games or likes sports, is almost certain that he is playing in some way,” he added.
Like Minnick, some teenagers play games in places that their parents may not realize bets: Fantasy Underdog, Prizepicks and Sleopeper Picks, for example, fall into the fantasy sports category, and most states take. (Every but a handful of states require that players have at least 21 to make bets in large online sites such as Draftkings and Betmgm). Technology Service and the most determined adolescents can also find ways to obtain the rejection sites of the age of the age sites of the age sites of the area. The Cool high school boy said Minnick, is the one who has access to the Fanduel account of his parents and is allowed to bet there.
“Most parents have no idea how much their children are being attacked by the predator game,” said Les Bernal, who runs the defense group Stop the predators gambling.
Experts in the game industry encourage parents to act.
Talk about the game
“The messages that children receive about the game come from commercials and advertising,” Cohen said. Some of the most prominent promoters are the largest stars of sports: football legends Eli and Peyton ManningWave Stautor Jordan SpiethBig basketball LeBron James and Shaquille O’Neal“ Red Sox batter David Ortiz.
“These athletes create a level of confidence in the game,” said Samantha Thomas, a professor of public health at the University of Deakin in Australia. “They think”, if Shaq is doing it, it can’t be something bad, “he added.
As discouraging as the wisdom of the stars can be to challenge, the need for affectionate adults to counteract that message. Many already talk to their children about pornography, drugs and alcohol abuse. The same must be said or the game. “This will not change unless parents talk about it,” said Bernal.
Children’s messages about the game
Draftkings and Fanduel sell the idea that the game is fun, there is money to win and that with athletics experience could have an advantage, play with the excess of confidence of some children in the knowledge of their sports.
Thomas Advisors parents to press the message about the reasons for the industry: it promotes the game so as not to help others to earn money, but to take it themselves. Remind them that the game industry does not have the best interest of players in the heart. They need to realize what most adults already do, that the house always wins.
Children need to learn that no matter their knowledge of athletes and teams, there is no career in sports bets, and that addiction to game is real. They must understand that “pursuing their losses”, doubling bets after losing a lot, is an addiction symptom. If they fall into trouble, children need peace of mind that they can ask for help.
How to talk about the game with children
Threats and scare tactics can be counterproductive.
“If my parents had said:” Never play again! “I’ll do it faster,” Rob Minnick told me. Bernal said children respond better to information. He advised Count Kids that the game is very addictive and reported that the whole scene is a scam: companies see it as an easy brand.
Minnick encouraged parents to continue talking about it and facilitating their son revealing their problem. And if the adolescent reveals a game problem at any level, such as betting or losing more than expected, forming it as seriously as he would do it with drugs or alcohol addiction.
Practice what preaches about the game
“Don’t take your children to the casinos,” Bernal said. “That would be as bar drugs in front of their children,” he added. Parents who play must model safe habits and bet responsible.
On November 12, 2022, Minnick Tok his latest bet. He followed a 12 -hour game binge, in which he lost all his Maney and accumulated debts that would take six months to pay. For the second time in his life, he went to a rehabilitation center and “detoxified” the habit. He is free from the impulse to bet, said Minnick, because he founded the meaning to help other problematic players to resign. An organization called Odaat (One day at the same time) that sacrifices resources to players and their families, including information on rehabilitation, financial advice and educational videos.
