Washington Warns Gambling Among Teenagers Is on the Rise

The Evergreen Council on Problem Gambling has sounded an alarm that Washington may be experiencing a serious gambling problem that, most worryingly, affects teenagers.

One in 12 teens gamble regularly, the council cautioned, arguing that the problem went even deeper when looking at the data further.

Teenagers At Risk in Washington as Gambling Remains a Serious Problem

One in 17 teens, for example, face gambling-related issues and problems, and this is despite the fairly robust consumer protection measures that are meant to protect vulnerable consumers and those who are not of the legal gambling age to participate in the activity just yet.

However, the rise in the availability of online sports gambling has fueled addiction among teenagers, specialists warn. One of those is Riley Leno, who is a certified gambling counselor who works at New Horizon Care Centers in Spokane.

Leno specifically criticized how online gambling made it much easier for children to access the product and feel attracted to it.

“That type of stimulus, when you’re getting the ups and downs, when you’re going through a developmental period, you don’t know what to do with that. So you’re taking it all in, adopting those mentalities, and are unable to process it, unable to see the aspects of it because it just feels good,” Leno explained, going into detail about the risks the new realities posed to consumers and children.

Leno doubled down on the prevalence of gambling ads, which are “everywhere” from physical media such as billboards to TV and radio advertisements. Leno also cautioned against influencers and streamers who are increasingly promoting gambling products and argued that gambling addiction is unlike others and that people could get the feeling of “high” just by watching others play – win or lose.

Gambling Can Make You an Addict by Simply Looking at Others Playing

This, Leno explained, made such streams even more harmful to younger people. “We still get the same dopamine kick from watching the machine as we would if we won. It’s the same amount of the chemical going on through the brain,” Leno continued. At the same time, organizations such as the Washington Lottery have strengthened their commitment to responsible gambling.

Gambling could also be appealing to youngsters because they do not look at the currency used as real money, but rather “coins” or whatever the specific currency at a casino is. This decouples the losses from the idea of actual financial consequences, Leno added.

At the same time, Washington AG Nick Brown has been among the 49 attorneys general to join a letter to the Department of Justice and ask for the limitation of offshore websites that are actively targeting gamblers in the United States.

A recent survey by the American Gaming Association (AGA) has warned that a considerable number of gamblers are actually turning to black market operations, or at least not licensed gambling platforms.