Smart Phones Minors Gambling Online

The amount of smart phones applications used to boost internet gambling has sky rocketed the last few years. Internet casinos are specifically targeting this market now, especially the tech-savvy youth.

Prof Dan Laubman, director of Turning Point Alcohol and Drug Centre, said online gaming sites induce minors to gamble via their smart phones by offering them free games without exchanging any cash. To be honest this is a very smart ploy since the odds of winning on the free “practice” games are significantly lower than playing for real cash.

In truth the youngsters are more than happy to oblige and this is where the problem starts, said Prof Laubman. ”Some mobile casinos advertise their wares stating that you don’t win or lose any money. Punters are encouraged to play poker for practice, once they’ve taken the bait they are lured to an internet betting forum that has very poor odds,” he said.

Prof Laubman continued by stating that interactive sportsbetting has increased exponentially as a result of the aggressive campaigns internet betting sites use to attract young people. In essence this creates problem gamblers amongst our youth from a very early age. Many young people are finding themselves in hot water because they use their smart phones”, he said.

“Initially it sounds very enticing and sounds like a lot of fun. It’s up to us to educate youngsters and make them aware of the pitfalls associated with internet gambling.”In the 21^st century gambling has become so easy all you need to do is to click a button on your smartphone and viola you’re good to go. To compound matters further, people lose money at an alarming rate and at times can’t control themselves any more.”

Former Australian of the Year Prof Patrick McGorry said the increasing reliance on  smart phone applications for day to day applications is a good thing. “In truth I think it’s great to have so much information at the click of a single button at your disposal,” he said.

The amount of applications available via Apple’s online store has reached more than 350,000, even though recent market research indicated that this figure is closer to half a million. Applications are developed nowadays for virtually every aspect of life.