The detrimental effects of gaming and gambling for money on youths between the ages of 12 and 18 are being brought to light by a British Columbian study.

34% of Young People Play Video Games or Gamble

A 2023 BC Adolescent Health Survey found that 34% of B.C. teens in 59 of the province's 60 school districts had participated in at least one kind of online gaming or other types of gambling for money in the preceding year, according to the McCreary Centre Society.

In British Columbia, gambling is permitted for anybody 19 years of age or older.

Purchasing in-game products, participating in gaming tournaments, streaming video games, purchasing lottery tickets or scratch cards, playing cards or dice in person or online, and betting on sports in person or online were the eight activities that men were most likely to have done for money. 

The Rise in Sports Betting

Every five years, the survey is carried out. 

The most common way to spend money was to purchase goods in video games, such as cosmetics and loot boxes.

The study found that the percentage of people who played cards or dice online in the past 12 months rose from 2% in 2018 to 5%, and that the percentage of people who bet on sports online doubled from 2% in 2018 (13% of those who bet on sports online did so every day).

Gambling Weekly for Financial Gains

However, other types of gambling, such as purchasing lottery tickets, have decreased. According to Annie Smith, executive director of the McCreary Center Society, fewer than half of young people now purchase lottery tickets compared to ten years ago, as reported by CBC. 

According to McCreary, there is a link between gambling issues as people age and financial gaming activities, such as playing video games, and sports betting.

Four percent of young people wagered at least once a week.

According to the report, children who are lonely, bullied, or shunned and who have links through online pals through gaming and gambling are also more likely to gamble at least once a week than those who live in poverty or have had a difficult home life.

12% of Young People Said They Need Assistance

Persistent gaming and gambling can have negative effects on sleep, mealtimes (causing people to substitute energy drinks), school absences, and disengagement, which exacerbates problems like depression and low self-esteem.

Smith told CBC that since gambling advertising normalizes it for younger people, the government can reduce team sponsorship and other marketing efforts in light of the significant increase in sports betting and its associated advertising.

According to the survey, 12% of young people claimed they required assistance with their gaming in the preceding year.

Young people were less likely to engage in gambling and gaming for financial gain if they felt a strong bond with their family.

According to some market estimates, 76% of people in British Columbia play in the unregulated grey market, but the province's only authorized gambling venue is the BCLC's PlayNow online gaming platform.

Parental Participation

By requiring identification upon entry to all British Columbian casinos and confirming age at the point of sale both in-person and online, BCLC makes sure that players under the age of 19 are not able to access our goods.

“The results of this survey reinforce the importance of providing tools that support gambling literacy to people of all ages, including youth,” said Ryan McCarthy, director, Player Health, BCLC.  “We encourage parents to take the opportunity to talk to the teens and children in their lives about key gambling concepts, like randomness and odds, when they are exposed to gambling activities, for example, when watching a sports game or playing video games that include loot boxes, which are purchased for undisclosed rewards.

It is more crucial than ever to comprehend how gambling operates and the significance of implementing safer gaming practices, such setting time and money limits.

McCarthy noted that BCLC makes sure that marketing visuals don't feature anything that might appeal to young people, such pictures of performers or animated characters who are younger than 25.

“In addition to these measures, BCLC runs an annual public relations and media campaign in November and December reminding adults not to purchase lottery products, such as Scratch and Win tickets, as Christmas gifts for minors,” he said.