An important risk of the web is online gambling, which often escapes the restrictive laws in force in our country and the protection of minors. For these reasons, it is important for young people to be aware of the main risks and, above all, to acquire all the information in order to avoid them.
The disease of gambling is now universally recognised and is increasingly affecting minors. It is therefore necessary to be informed more and more about the risks of the game, to prevent situations that push you to start or continue, to cure in the most serious cases.
In a survey of Blue Phone and Doxakids in 2016,25% of young people surveyed said that online gambling is one of the greatest risks that children can face online. Only 1% of respondents admit that they have gambled online, but suggest that 38% of respondents are used to shopping online with a parent credit card.
What are the risks?
Online gambling and online betting can increase the risk of gambling and internet addiction. The increase in time spent online is certainly one of the first alarm bells. One of the symptoms, in fact, is to continue playing for longer than you want. Pathological gambling can become a pathological addiction and therefore a real illness with serious consequences and needs diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation. The pathological player is unable to resist the impulse that drives him to play and neglect all other activities, including study and friendship.
Economic losses
Unlike online games, in games of chance the peculiarity is the possibility of winning or losing real money. The risk, as for adults, is that it develops addiction to the game and no longer controls the amount of money you are betting.
How to prevent
As with dependence on the Internet, it is good to observe them in their daily behaviour and identify important signals such as the loss of interest in real life activities, for example for schools or sports practiced; isolation from friends; increasing time spent on the Internet. Even a tendency to physically isolate oneself when they are online (perhaps to prevent parents from noticing them) can be a wake-up call. Without forgetting that monitoring them means dialogue with them.
Beware also of all those games that, while not betting on real money,"educate" the little ones to gambling. Think of mini apps for mobile phone slots with video games where luck, and not skills, leads to the victory of fake gold bars.
Parents are an example for their children: avoid gambling or betting so as to avoid imitating behaviour.
Finally, check your credit and prepaid cards, especially if your children have access to them. We are in fact talking about sites that provide for payouts and real money losses! It should also be remembered that unfortunately the prosecutability of some online operators (virtual casinos) is made difficult by the fact that they are located in remote countries and subject to different legislation: recovering money spent by children may be impossible. If you need to ask your credit card issuer if it is possible to revoke the debit authorisations (cash-back procedure).
An extra tool....
For Secondary School Secondary School students, the MIUR has made available on IoStudio - La Carta della Studente the possibility of activating it as an electronic purse with PostePay functionality, but with inhibited goods categories. In fact, with it you can not bet online.
What to do if it happens
Remember that the Italian Safer Internet Center provides both your children and your children with two channels for advice or help. The first is the free listening line 1.96.96, the second is the chat. The helpline is open 24 hours a day, every day of the year. The chat instead is active every day of the year from 8 am to 10 pm (Saturday and Sunday from 8 am to 8 pm).
If you are in an emergency situation, or endanger the safety of your child or other persons, or if you are aware of illegal online activities (e. g. sites that explicitly encourage or accept gambling by minors) call the Postal Police.
