By Aiyah Usison
In 1910, the U.S government announced that gambling was no longer legal due to the money loss, rise in crime rates, and addiction everyone who gambled had faced. Now what was once only an in-person activity has turned into an app targeted towards the younger generation with flashy colors, fun images, and sports related content.
Teenagers’ brains are still developing until the age of 25 and things that the brain are attracted to almost immediately reel teens in without critical thinking coming into play. If they see something they like they are willing to bet on it without being rational about where their money is going.
CBS Morning reports that, “A recent survey says 36% of boys aged 11 to 17 gambled in the past year… Among 17 year old boys, it rises to 49%. That’s almost half of 17 year olds out there gambling.”
With the numbers being so high it feels normal to wonder, why do teens gamble? Why is the percentage so high for people so young? Well it’s because companies know how to target the right people, they know they want to target teens and just by a quick research they can find out exactly how to target teens.
But why are these gambling apps on the rise? Let’s look into what these apps have in common.
On CBS Mornings Dr. Sue Varma, a board-certified psychiatrist was asked about why these online gambling apps were on the rise and she answered with this, “Number one is accessibility… Not only is this a problem for children, we’re seeing that, you know, prior 50 2018, only, and it’s a large number, but $5 million dollars annually was spent on sports betting. That number has gone up to $150 million dollars. So the accessibility and the gamification makes it so enticing for kids. It’s like when you have these loot boxes or free rewards, it gets them and the colors, the bright colors, the dopamine hit, it really gets pulled in because it is easy to open these accounts.”
And with all of this advertising directed towards teens, some teens will know that it’s not good for them. Since their parents give them a lot of freedom they’ll never know. So if you’re a teen and you are reading this, just know that you have been warned and now that you are aware make sure to help you, your friends, and your peers to stay away from those apps before they get addicted.
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