Poland Continues to Educate Youths about Dangers of Gambling

One of the highly-grossing online gambling markets in Europe, Poland is looking to do more and protect underage individuals from coming into contact with addictive practices. The National Revenue Administration (KAS, for its Polish acronym) continues with a national campaign design to highlight the dangers of illegal gambling among youth in the country.

A total of 1,600 meetings were hosted across Poland at schools as part of the “Gambling? Don’t Get Involved” campaign that saw 110,000 people participate. Educating young people about the dangers of gambling is particularly important, says KAS director Magdalena Rzeczkowska.

The most recent edition of the campaign focused on highlighting the problems associated with gambling, including financial difficulties, addiction as well as social isolation. The campaign is similarly focusing on games available online that emulate gambling mechanisms, in what appears to be a reference to loot boxes where players may purchase a “digital treasure chest” for a chance to get a random reward.

Understanding Where the Pitfalls for Young Gamers Are

“Gambling? Don’t Get Involved” was focused on seven and eighth-graders in the country as young people may treat online gambling as an innocent form of entertainment before they realize they have developed a problem. The campaign wants to educate young people, family, and friends on the dangers and the growing problem of illegal gambling, which is indiscriminate in targeting paying customers.

The campaign coincided with a newly issued report by H2 Gambling Capital, a UK-based research company, which worked with Totalizator Sportowy to provide insight into how the illegal gambling market has evolved since online gambling was legalized in Poland in 2016. The research firm found out that the share of illegal operators has fallen from 80% to 25% presently.

Meanwhile, “Gambling? Don’t Get Involved” focused on explaining the popular ploys that such offshore operators use, including big welcome bonuses to distract and lure players in. The campaign acknowledged that gambling can be a highly emotional activity that could easily lead to addictive practices.