Parents first line of defence in teenage gambling prevention

The NSW Government is enlisting parents in its efforts to protect children from gambling harm in light of statistics showing parental behaviour strongly influences teenage gambling attitudes.

The Office of Responsible Gambling has launched a public awareness campaign in response to research that highlighted risks of adolescent gambling harm, from parental influences through to everyday gambling advertising.

The research was funded by the NSW Responsible Gambling Fund (RGF), with The Role of Parents in Youth Gambling report finding almost 70 per cent of parents who gambled during the previous year did so in the presence of their children.

Other key risk factors were playing gambling-like video games, poor parental monitoring, and less positive parent-adolescent relationships.

More than a quarter of the 947 parents surveyed (27 per cent) reported that their adolescent had participated in at least one form of gambling during the past 12 months, with the most common being instant scratchies and lottery tickets.

The NSW Youth Gambling Study supported previous findings that young people’s gambling attitudes and behaviours were shaped through the influence of parents, peers, gambling advertising, sport, gambling opportunities, and monetary and simulated gambling products.

The new GambleAware campaign, which includes social and other media advertising, aims to encourage discussions about the potential dangers of exposing minors to gambling.

It includes videos for parents and carers about how to minimise young people’s exposure to gambling, as well as additional information, fact sheets and contact details for support services on the GambleAware.nsw.gov.au page.

The campaign addresses three significant factors that drive young people’s perception of, and participation in, gambling:

The role parental influence plays in a child’s attitudes to gambling
The convergence of gaming and gambling, and how parents and carers can create a safer environment for their children
Gambling advertising and its effects on children, and how parents and carers can reduce their children’s exposure.

If you or someone you care about needs support or advice, call GambleAware on 1800 858 858 for free and confidential help and support 24/7.

Director of the Office of Responsible Gambling Alison Parkinson said:

“Young people are now, more than ever, exposed to gambling via video games, advertising, watching sports and through social media so it’s vital we educate children and young people about gambling risks.

“Parents and carers have the greatest influence on youth gambling and their children’s attitudes towards it and I encourage them to monitor their children’s exposure to gaming and gambling, and to talk to them about the risks.

“Things you can do include not gambling in front of your children or teenagers, not helping them to gamble, talking to them about the risks of gambling and supervising them online.”

Gamble Aware Community Engagement Officer South-Western Sydney, Kaitlyn Sturges said:

“It is important for parents and carers to be curious about the games children play and what they contain. Gaming can have a positive role in the young person’s life, but the games they play can also expose them to gambling and gambling-like activities.

“Many parents and carers haven’t reviewed their own attitudes towards gambling, chance and luck, and how that might trickle down to young people.

“A lot of young people are ill-informed about the concepts of randomness and chance, but I firmly believe that they can make informed decisions if we provide them with the necessary education.”