TEENS playing online poker for hours on end have youth workers worried that bad gambling habits could be on the cards.
With research revealing higher rates for at-risk gambling among young people and an increase in the popularity of poker, sports betting and online gambling, this week’s Responsible Gambling Awareness Week will be geared towards youth education.
Melbourne Citymission gambling prevention worker Talia Okten is hosting an education forum on Friday for young African men living in Melbourne’s west.
She said the forum was prompted by a growing concern about many of the 50 young men aged 15-25 she works with, some spending entire days on social networking sites playing mock poker.
“Even if they’re not actually using real money, some kids can spend a whole day in front of the computer, which is a worrying trend.
“Most of the boys who come in are unemployed or aren’t in school, but when they do get jobs and have money, these habits could lead to a real gambling problem.”
Swinburne University gambling researcher Anna Thomas said disadvantaged people in Melbourne’s west were at greater risk of developing gambling habits.
“Some of the reasons people might gamble is to escape from their problems, and for people in areas like these with social disadvantages, it might be about the the elusive dream of winning and getting out of the problems you’re in.”
This comes as a new study shows western suburbs punters are feeling the pinch of pokies losses more than anywhere else in Victoria, gambling away up to a quarter for inner west and up to 12per cent [for outer west] of their median income.
In the federal seat of Lalor, which takes in Wyndham, Melton and parts of Hobsons Bay, an estimated 23,835 pokies players lost about $3750 each last financial year, UnitingCare research shows
Canadian gambling expert Jeffrey Derevensky, in Melbourne for Responsible Gambling Week, agreed that free and easily accessible online casino games were a slippery slope towards family relationship breakdowns, stealing, poor academic performance and mental health issues.
