A recent Australian study has found that gambling is on the rise amongst teenagers. The study, conducted by the Education Department's Youth Gambling Research Project, looked at gambling habits of students aged between 12 and 17.
The study found that gambling overall had reduced – with the number of students who were gambling on a weekly basis falling from 15% to 6% over the last six years. The number of students who reported gambling at least once in the past year had fallen from 62% to 56% over the same period.
While gambling in general may be less popular, the number of students who played card games for money had increased by 7%, with 27% of students playing games such as poker. The study believes that movies such as Casino Royale, which popularized card games recently, may be the cause for the increase.
The survey found that males were more likely to gamble than females, and that 6.4% of the gamblers were 'at risk', while 2.4% could be classed as problem gamblers.
Mark Henley, an advocacy program manager for UnitingCare Wesley commented that "Poker is a growing activity, and while it is claimed to be a recreational game, it's a gambling activity pure and simple". Education Department representatives have commented that they need to develop education programs to keep teens informed about the risks involved with gambling.
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