Fredericksburg Parent

22 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • November 2022 Sports be ng became legal in Virginia at the start of 2021. Since then, Virginians have been exposed to an increased amount of adver sing for sports be ng and related gaming. "The more you see it, the more it becomes normalized, and the more people are going to start par cipa ng in it," says Anne Rogers, problem gambling preven on coordinator with the Office of Behavioral Health Wellness through the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. She urges parents to talk to kids about gambling in the same way they would talk about the risks of alcohol, tobacco and drugs. Gambling addic on is more prevalent among young people than it is in the adult popula- on. While gambling disorder affects an es mated 1 to 3 percent of adults, it impacts 4 to 8 percent of American youth. She also notes that studies have shown that gambling addic- on has the highest suicide rate among all addic ons. STARTING EARLY LEADS TO GREATER RISK Because children and teens haven't developed the part of their brain that helps them with logic and execu ve func on, they are at heightened risk for problema c behaviors related to gambling. "Their impulsivity is much higher than that of adults," says Rogers. "Being impulsive is one of the risk factors for problem gambling, which is why if they start gambling early, kids are at higher risk to become problem gamblers than someone who starts as an adult." Social games such as Candy Crush and Fortnite use some of the same psychological prin- ciples that gambling sites use to keep kids hooked, and in some cases to encourage them to spend real money for rewards in their virtual realms. "We do see more players playing social media games develop problems later on with gambling," Virginia council on problem gambling president Carolyn Hawley says. "It is believed to be kind of a gateway." The Virginia Problem Gambling Helpline (1-888-532-3500) is a resource for anyone in the commonwealth who is worried about problem gambling—for themselves or a loved one. Gambling and Gaming START A CONVERSATION TODAY Try these opening lines to talk to your child about gam- bling and gaming: ● "Is this gambling or gaming? What is the difference? Why does it ma er?" ● "Have you no ced all these be ng ads? Does it make it seem harmless or easy to win?" ● "What is your favorite game/app right now? Can you show me how it works?" ● "Do any of your gaming/ gambling/screen me habits get in the way of things like sleep, spend- ing me with friends/ family or ge ng out- side?" SIGNS THAT THERE IS A GAMBLING PROBLEM INCLUDE: • Selling personal belongings, bor- rowing money, stealing or lying to finance gambling. • Major changes in a child's friend group. • Debt that the child can't explain. • Absences from school, not com- ple ng school work. • Obsession with televised sports, sports sta s cs. An inability to enjoy sports if their team isn't winning. PARENTS SHOULD: • Model responsible behavior around gambling and gaming, with me limits and firm rules on what is and isn't acceptable. • Ask ques ons any me a child wants to use an adult's credit card to make an online pur- chase. Be sure to fully understand where the money is going and what it is for. Disable in-app purchases on your child's device. • Use news stories about lo ery payouts to talk about odds, and the extremely low prob- ability of winning these games of chance. • Understand the apps your child asks to download—are they encouraging behaviors that could be addic ve or encourage gambling? Do they include ads for websites or apps that encourage gambling? • Encourage your child to think cri cally about the logic of paying money for virtual "to- kens" or "skins" in online games. • Teach healthy spending habits, and talk to kids about what they would like to use or save their money for. Explain that gambling will inevitably lead to loss, and put them farther from their goals. talk about:

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