FUD Study: Teenagers Getting Addicted To Free Online Gambling

Gambling for free on the Internet has become the most popular gambling activity among youths in Oregon, according to a new survey. That concerns officials who say it introduces teenagers to gambling and grooms them for other forms in which money is waged.”You’re learning that gambling is fun, it’s stimulating, and it’s risk-free,” said Wendy Hausotter, problem gambling prevention coordinator with Oregon Department of Human Services. “That’s not true at all.” The survey, commissioned by DHS last year, found that 33 percent of youths ages 12 to 17 — an estimated 94,659 teens — gamble online for free.

It’s an activity that is convenient and easily accessible, officials say, because it can be done at home at any time, often under no supervision from parents. Its novelty, high level of stimulation and low level of physical exertion also appeal to youths, many of whom are tech-savvy. [So lazy kids sit in front of the computer all day and happen to play poker? What if the parents forced them to go outside? Scary idea.-Editor]

“It’s the game of choice among youth, which is surprising for us,” Hausotter said. “It wasn’t on the radar screen.” The last survey done on youth gambling in Oregon was in 1998. It didn’t ask teens and their parents about free online gambling.

The article and the associated study goes on to talk about all the ills associated with free online gambling. Well, whats the difference between free online gambling and Solitaire card games that has come with every Windows computer since 1990? Playing games such as World of Warcraft or Everquest online with no actual money involved is in a way gambling. Game of Monopoly (fake money involved) is gambling. NCAA March Madness Basketball pools among buddies is gambling. What’s the difference? At some point in life people need to learn self-control, not everything needs government regulation. It’ll be just a matter of weeks before some politician starts citing this study as the need for more anti-gambling regulation? Would I bet on that?

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