The quadrupling of child problem gamblers to more than 50,000 in two years has been branded a “generational scandal”.
A Gambling Commission audit due for release on Wednesday reveals that the number of problem gamblers aged 11 to 16 rose to 55,000 over two years. It also found that 70,000 youngsters were at risk and that 450,000 children bet regularly, the equivalent of one in seven children aged 11 to 16.
The audit, reported in the Daily Mail, said the youngsters were staking an average of £16 a week on fruit machines, bingo, betting shops and online games, which are all illegal for under-18s.
The findings were branded “deeply concerning” by the Church of England, which warned that the country needed to take the “dangers of gambling seriously”.
The bishop of St Albans, the Right Reverend Alan Smith, branded the findings that 55,000 children were classed as problem gamblers as a “generational scandal”.
He added: “Today’s findings by the Gambling Commission make worrying reading and serve as a warning to parents. After years of progress, it seems the rates of children gambling are creeping back up. These figures suggest 450,000 11- to 16-year-olds have gambled in the past week – that is deeply concerning. We need to start taking the dangers of gambling seriously.”
The audit also revealed that children were being inundated with gambling adverts, with two-thirds telling the auditors they had seen them on TV. It said close to a million young people had been exposed to gambling through “loot boxes” in video games or on smartphone apps. Loot boxes are chance-based items that can be purchased in video games to win prizes and have been likened to poker machines.
The audit found that more children said they had placed a bet in the past week than drank alcohol, smoked or taken drugs.
Smith said the government, local authorities, schools and charities needed to put in place more safeguards to protect children from becoming problem gamblers.
“However much the gambling industry says it is not targeting the young, it is clear that a significant minority of teenagers are still being drawn into gambling and it is no coincidence that one in six children have seen gambling adverts on social media,” he said. “In-game gambling and loot-boxes are a new phenomenon and so require new answers. The world has changed since 2005 when the gambling sector was deregulated and so, sadly, has gambling.
“Therefore, government, local authorities, schools, the private and the charitable sector need to study these findings carefully and put in place preventative measures to safeguard young people.”