Rise in Bay teens addicted to gambling alarms experts

ALISON BROWN | 6th April 2005

Health authorities are alarmed at the growing number of Bay of Plenty teenagers who are becoming addicted to gambling.

A workshop being held in Rotorua tomorrow is intended to increase awareness of the problem, and help people take action.

Toi Te Ora Public Health is hosting the workshop for youth workers and schools to raise awareness of the issue.

Guidance counsellors from several Rotorua schools will attend.

Rotorua Lakes High School principal John Ellis said it was "frightening" to think about the impact pokie Machines in sports clubs was having on teens.

"Young people do have access to them and they need educating about the problems arising from that."

The Problem Gambling Foundation's youth project leader, Clare Docherty, said young people needed to be shown ways to make responsible choices.

Many forms of gambling were not monitored, did not have age limits and were happening in schools.

"There's a variation of a game using coins instead of marbles and some teens are losing $50 on it before they even start the school day."

Gambling could affect their school work, family and social lives, but teenagers did not always learn the same lessons that older gamblers did, Ms Docherty said.

"Many will get bailed out by their parents.

"They don't have the responsibility of paying rent or buying groceries so the same consequences of them losing money is lost on them."

Ariana Frost from Te Rangihaeata Oranga, which is running the workshop with the Problem Gambling Foundation, said teenagers were particularly at risk because they were used to playing games on the internet, computers and cellphones.

"Teenagers are very techno-savvy and gambling is more than likely to head in that direction and become more internet and virtual-reality focused," she said.

More than 85 percent of people who access the foundation's services are addicted to pokies, but Mrs Frost said that was likely to change as gambling became more skill-based.

The problem had got worse in recent years as more gambling products became available, creating an impression among teens gambling was acceptable behaviour.

"This generation was born into a society where gambling is the norm," Mrs Frost said.

"Lotto machines are in supermarkets and pharmacies and there's a pokie machine outlet almost everywhere."

The Rotorua district has 483 pokie machines at 42 sites - equating to one pokie machine for every 97 adults.

The foundation's Rotorua counsellor, Lyndsay Campbell, blames the machines for a rise in the number of people accessing her services.

The demand has been so great, the foundation has recently increased her hours at her Eruera St clinic from one to three days a week.

Across the country, the number of teens with problem gambling habits has also risen dramatically.

The number of young people identified as problem gamblers is two to three times higher than other age groups, with 16 percent of all people referred to the foundation for counselling aged under 25.

About 20 percent of Maori and nearly 30 percent of Asian callers to the gambling helpline are aged under 25 so far this year.

Rotorua district councillor Maureen Waaka, who is a member of the foundation's national board, said it was no surprise more young people were getting hooked on gambling.

"They sit and watch their families play the pokies and see all the lights and money coming out," she said.

"That can have a lasting impact on impressionable young people."