Tuesday, January 30, 2007

Teenage gambling is a growing problem in Southwestern Ontario, a local
expert says. Though she didn't have hard numbers available, Bonnie Orvidas
said it's clear to everyone involved more young people are seeking addiction
treatment services. "It's in the last two to three years that we have been
hearing from young people. Most of them are males," said Orvidas, the
problem gambling services program co-ordinator for Addiction Services of
Thames Valley. A study released yesterday found that one-third of Ontario
teens aged 15 to 17 are gambling. But other statistics pulled together from
across the province in recent years show that as many as 80 per cent of
teens between the ages of 12 and 17 gambled for money and that young people
spend more time gambling than drinking, smoking or doing illicit drugs. "I
think it's about accessibility for one thing. If you look around
Southwestern Ontario, there are a lot of opportunities to gamble," Orvidas
said. Teens who gamble, even casually, agree there are plenty of avenues. "I
do quite a bit of it," said 16-year-old Johnny Haskett of London, who was
hanging out at the Teen Annex at the London Central Library. His biggest
loss was losing his pet rat in a bet, he said. Haskett said he is no good at
cards, so his gambling involves placing bets with his friends or his
friends' parents on sporting events. Like Haskett, 18-year-old Jerry Shaw
said he bets with his friends "on a weekly basis" and he belongs to a
fantasy basketball league. "Me and my buddies are too young to get into the
casinos," so they find other ways to gamble, he said. "I make a lot. Money's
cool." Shaw said he doesn't have any debts, but he sometimes uses the money
he makes to pay bills. Yesterday's study by the Responsible Gambling Council
also noted that one in five teens gamble because they need money. "What that
says to me is that they have fallen into that cognitive distortion which
problem gamblers have believing that they can make money from gambling,"
Orvidas said. Because of the increase in young people seeking treatment
locally, Orvidas's organization began offering specialized youth services
about three years ago. "I think the young people feel very comfortable when
they come here," said Orvidas, who added that their youngest client to date
was 15. She said gambling starts younger than that for some.

"We've seen some people here who have been gambling since they were the age
of 10 or 12."

Orvidas also said the problem of illegal gambling is escalating in this
region.

"For every $100 spent on legal gambling, $142 is spent on illegal gambling.
The demographic there would be a lot of young men."

Reflecting the findings of the Responsible Gambling Council study, teens in
the Thames Valley area mainly play hold 'em poker and other online gambling
games, Orvidas said.

"Kids can go online and gamble without having to provide any ID," she said.
"It's so accessible with computers at home."