Experts Take on Online Gambling

Most Teens Lose and Even Winners can be Losers

By Larry Magid
January, 2006

In the companion piece to this article, "Teen a Big Winner in Online Poker but Warns ‘Most People are going to lose in the End”, Rob, a 19 year old student at a prestigious university,  paints a pretty picture of his life-style, but admits, “most people are going to lose in the end so I'd probably warn them to be careful.”  That, say our experts is an understatement. Not only is online gambling – including poker – a losing proposition for most people, experts say that it can even have long term negative effects on “winners” like Rob.

Chapel Hill, N.C., psychologist Irene Lazarus worries both about the legal issues and the long-term psychological implications. “He’s very cavalier about the legal consequences and the impact it could have on his future career choices,” she said.

Dr. Lazarus, who has a son the same age as Rob, says it “makes me very uneasy as a psychologist and a mother. I do feel sympathetic. I know how hard it is to pay for college tuition costs these days. There’s a part of me that feels, ‘well, you’re getting yourself through college and that’s a good thing.’  But there is also something about how you get money, the lawfulness and the impact it might have on others who you play against as well as how you adjust to it and feel about it as you get older.

Professor Jeffrey L. Derevensky, Ph.D, co-director of the International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and High-Risk Behavior at McGill University in Montreal (http://www.youthgambling.com/) is also concerned. His research center studies issues regarding youth gambling and his clinic treats people who exhibit gambling- related problems.

“There are some individuals who are making some money on Internet gambling, especially Internet poker,” he acknowledges, “however, what we find is that many of these youth, independent of whether they are good students and have good values, seem to have problems down the line. Those problems can be anywhere from interpersonal problems, academic problems, social problems to financial problems, including and leading up to legal problems.  Dr. Derevensky points to one case “of a good student whose father was a minister,” who wound up robbing a bank to pay his gambling debt. 

Despite “some success stories,” Dr. Derevensky says that “there are many, many horror stories that are also associated with excessive gambling.” He says that “there is a much larger number of adolescents who are not only not making money but also getting into all kinds of trouble as a result of their gambling behavior.”  Most people, he says “actually lose money, and in the long run the industry’s general rule of thumb is the more you play the more you lose.”

And unlike the old days, the “new heroes are no longer elderly man with the Texas hat and the stogies. They’re the kids who wear baseball caps turned backwards with the sunglasses.”

Rob’s initial experience winning at small stakes is fairly common, but his ongoing success makes him a rarity, says Dr. Derevensky. “Generally what happens for individuals who seem to exhibit gambling-related problems or who we often refer to as pathological gambling, will often start by winning.  They generally start by playing relatively small-stakes poker and it generally increases in terms of frequency, amount of time spent and amount of money wagered.”

He also worries that “we’re starting to see more and more individuals starting to gamble at an earlier and earlier age.” He says “there is research to suggest that children start gambling when they were 9 and 10 years of age. It starts relatively simple, and they’d be placing a wager amongst their peers or buying a lottery ticket or maybe getting a Scratcher from their parents as stocking stuff or as a birthday gift.”

Speaking of small stuff, you can wager very small amounts or even play at “practice sites” where no real money is wagered.  But if you or your kids happen to win a lot of virtual “money” on the free games, don’t let it go to your head. Dr. Derevensky says that “a colleague of mine did a study and found that the payout rate on the practice sites is much higher than on the real sites. It reinforces the behavior so you’re more likely to play for real money.”

He says that many parents actually encourage kids to gamble online “because they think it’s better for the kids to be up in their rooms playing poker than actually going out and doing drugs or alcohol.”

Yet, just like drugs and alcohol, “gambling does have a number of problems associated with it." Derevensky says that he’s seen several “adolescents who have lost large sums of money. In one of the most prestigious private schools in Montreal, a grade 11 student was playing Internet poker and lost a large amount of money, and in order to help bail him out he and his friends decided to sell counterfeit money.” Other kids wind up unable to concentrate or focus on school and subsequently drop out. 

Based on studies in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Europe, and Australia, Dr. Derevensky’s organization’s website reports that “4-8% of adolescents presently have a serious gambling problem with another 10-14% of adolescents at-risk for developing a serious gambling problem.”  The site also reports that “adolescent problem gamblers are more likely to be boys, but girls seem to be catching up” and that adolescents “are overly represented as a group compared to adult problem gamblers.”

The website says that "problematic gambling among adolescents has been linked with increased delinquency and criminal behavior, as well as the disruption of family and peer relationships. Problem gambling can also negatively affect overall school performance and work activities. While youth may present with different initial symptoms than adults, they nevertheless share similar characteristics. For example, adolescent problem gamblers report a preoccupation with gambling, sacrificing school, work, parental and peer relationships in order to continue gambling.”

There are symptoms parents can watch out for, says Dr. Derevensky. ”One thing is if kids are constantly talking about gambling. Since 'Texas Hold'em' is the worldwide phenomenon now they may be watching a lot of 'Texas Hold'em' on television or taping the tournaments off TV.  I had one teenager tell me that he would tape all the TV shows and stay up all night long watching 'Texas Hold'em' Tournaments and said 'that’s my education'.”

Not every young person who gambles will develop serious problems, says Dr. Derevensky. “Most of these kids will grow up not having any problems, just like most adolescents will grow up and drink in a responsible manner and gamble in a responsible manner,” yet “there is a small identifiable population of these individuals who exhibit significant gambling- or alcohol-related problems. And these can escalate very quickly.

"Still, if your child exhibits any signs of gambling, it may be time for some parental intervention. “They should understand that it’s not without some consequences. I would say to them that if they enjoy playing, it’s OK, but they should do it with friends or family and not for money.”

Besides, as Rob and just about any astute observer can testify, in order for some people to win, others have to lose and, statistically, the odds are that your kids will be in the losing corner.