HOW SPORTS BETTING CAN BE MADE SAFER FOR YOUNG SUPPORTERS
50,000 children between the ages of 11 and 16 have a gambling problem, and that’s just in the UK. Across the globe, young supporters are getting increasing access to gambling sites that allow them to bet on their favorite sports teams. This puts them at risk of developing addictive behaviors that could cause them real pain. In this article, we look at what steps can be taken to help keep young supporters safe. Recommended reading: SPORTS BETTING AND HORSE RACE BETTING: HOW DO THEY DIFFER? Clearly define what sports betting & gambling activity is One of the most important parts of making sports betting safe for young supporters is to be very clear about what constitutes gambling activity – without this clarity, how can we be sure that any steps we take are going in the right direction? Newsround is a youth magazine operated by UK publication the BBC that’s geared towards making important topics digestible for young people. In 2018, Newsround published an article that responds to research by the Gambling Commission, which stated thousands of youths have a problem with gambling. Newsround argued that “not everybody agrees on what exactly counts as a gambling activity for children.” This is a real problem. The solution is that we need to be clear that any activity where people stake “something of value in the hope of winning something else”...
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