Youth gambling: Current issues

Jeffrey L. Derevensky, Ph.D.

Professor, School/Applied Child Psychology

Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology

Professor, Department of Psychiatry

International Centre for Youth Gambling Problems and

High-Risk Behaviors

McGill University

Today’s youth…

Technologically sophisticated

Age of Onset for Video Games by Gender and Gaming

Addiction

3GAS score (0-3).bGAS score (≥4).

N Mean SD

Gender

Male 518 8.58 2.73

Female 574 9.94 2.84

Gaming addiction

Social gamera

1057 9.34 2.85

Addicted gamerb

35 7.91 3.16

Total 1092 9.30 2.87

McBride & Derevensky, 2014

Gambling as a high risk

behavior…

Adapted from Understanding Substance Abuse Prevention: Toward 21st Century

Primer on Effective Programs (P. Brounstein & J. Zweig, 1999). Center for

Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) & Substance Abuse and Mental Health

Services Administration (SAMHSA). Dickson, Derevensky, & Gupta (2002).

Transitions from social gambling to at-

risk gambling to problem gambling

Adolescent gamblers and problem

gamblers are not a homogenous group

Different pathways and motivations for

gambling

The future …..

Social gaming is the next big

thing in 2012

Mark Zuckerberg

Social Media Usage

• Over 70% of older adolescents use social media daily

(ACMA, 2012)

• Mobile phones used by upwards of 95% of high school

youth

• 69% use smart phones, 49% access Facebook, 43%

play games on mobile phones (Macpherson, 2013)

Popular & innovative online

games

Interactive games…

Trivia Crack

Heart of Vegas

Social Casino Games

• Social casino games one of the fastest growing and

most profitable genres of social gaming (Superdata, 2012)

• Predicted to grow from 173 million users (2012) to 269

million users (2016) (Morgan Stanley, 2012)

• Social casino gaming equally popular with males &

females and especially for youth ages 14-19 (McBride &

Derevensky, 2015)

• In 2012, social casino games accounted for almost 25%

of social gaming revenue (Superdata, 2012)

Social Casino Gaming Among

Young People

• In U.K., 10% of children 11-16 played a social casino or

practice game in past week (Parke et al., 2013)

• In Australia, 13% of children 12-17 played simulated

casino games past year (32% during their lifetime) (King

et al., 2014)

Minneapolis Airport

Student-Athletes Reporting Playing Any

Simulated Gambling Activity (Past Year)(Paskus & Derevensky, 2013)

2012 Study

Males 28.1%

Females 10.2%

Internet “Gambling” Without

Money: A few examples

This website does not permit players to wager real money. Chips in players' accounts have no monetary value, and cannot

be exchanged for anything of value. Any and all references in the website to "pots," "limits", "betting” or the like are solely

for instructional or illustrative purposes and do not involve wagering real money.

Practice Sites

www.pokerstars.net

Past-Year Gambling Participation (On and Off the Internet) by

Gender and Problem Gambling Severity among college

students

N=465 Land-based

gambling

Practice sites Internet gambling

Gender***

Male 305 66.2 49.8 11.8

Female 160 46.9 30.0 0.6

Problem Gambling

Severity

Non gambler 186 - 22.0 *** -

Social gambler 262 99.2 55.3 *** 11.8 **

Problem gambler 17 100 82.4 *** 35.3 **

Means 59.6 43.0 8.0

** p < .01*** p <.001

McBride & Derevensky, 2014

Is there a link between social casino

gambling and online gambling?

• Gambling and social game playing represent two leisure activities in which adolescents and young adults participate (Derevensky, 2012)

• Problem gamblers had higher rates of social game playing than non-gamblers (McBride & Derevensky, 2015)

• Addicted gamers had higher rates of land-based gambling than non-gamers. Many college students indicated learning how to gamble on Facebook (Kim et al., 2014)

• There was concern that online site providers use psychological principles of persuasion to manipulate users and migrate people from the play-for-fun sites to online gambling sites (Kim, Wohl, Salmon, Gupta & Derevensky, 2014)

What do we currently know??

• Some social casino games permitting play with virtual currency have been shown to

– have differential payout rates -(Sevigny et al., 2005)

– represent initial exposure for future players (Morgan Stanley, 2012)

• Much social media gambling incorporates videogame technology (Derevensky, 2012)

• Playing on Internet gambling sites without money is a common practice amongst adolescents and young adults (McBride & Derevensky, 2015)

• At-Risk and PGs play on Internet with and without money more often than non-gamblers and social gamblers (McBride & Derevensky, 2015)

What do we currently know??

• A considerable number of university students who do not gamble for money (either on or off the Internet) report playing on practice sites (Derevensky & Paskus, 2013; McBride & Derevensky, 2014)

• Individuals who use social casino games as a way of developing skills and expertise are at risk for increased gambling (Kim, Hollingshead, Wohl & Derevensky, 2015)

• Problem gamblers who use social casino games report a reduction in gambling urges and reduced gambling (Kim, Hollingshead, Wohl & Derevensky, 2015)

What do we currently know??

• Morgan Stanley (2012) report on social gambling suggests social gambling offers the potential to “teach young people to gamble”

• Australian Government Review of the Interactive Gambling act (2012):

“The public policy argument for prohibiting access to such

gaming simulations is that it potentially normalises

gambling amongst children and may lead them to become

problem gamblers in the future.”

“that with many gambling simulations is how the odds are often geared to benefit the players, which may provide a false impression of the ease of winning.”

Several reviews….

U. K. Gambling Commission (2015)

The boundaries between social gaming and commercial

gambling have become increasingly blurred and are of

concern for young people as a result of:

• the growth in use of social media for social gaming

and gambling

• an increasing convergence between the products of

traditional gambling and social gaming businesses

• significant investment by companies developing new

products or ways of marketing existing products

Issues needing to be addressed

● Online gambling

● Social gaming (social casino gambling)

● Sports gambling

● Fantasy leagues

● Best Practices (Prevention & Treatment)

● Public policy – should social casino games be

regulated?