Up to 1.65 million children are growing up in households where an adult is experiencing ‘problem gambling’, new research has revealed.
According to GambleAware’s new annual Treatment and Support Survey published today (21 August), huge numbers of British kids are regularly exposed to gambling – and such children are four times more likely to go on to experience problem gambling themselves.
Children’s commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza welcomed the “increasing recognition” of the toll placing a bet can take on children.
“I want to see far more attention given to the impact of gambling on children and young people,” she said. “I’m particularly concerned about new, easily accessible forms of gambling online that obscure the risks and the harms and are increasingly pervasive in children’s lives.”
“If we allow gambling to be normalised for young people through continued exposure to advertising and gambling activities in online games, we risk a long-term impact on their lives – on their mental or physical health, relationships or financial wellbeing.”
From high street shops to sports club sponsorship, betting and wagering is extremely common in the UK. Indeed, most British adults (58%) gambled at some point in the last year.