By KTimes
The variety of youngsters hooked on playing has greater than doubled previously 4 years, with an alarming 14-fold enhance in on-line on line casino utilization. This pattern has raised vital considerations in regards to the rising situation of youth playing.
One such case entails a 17-year-old, who fell into playing after observing associates in center college and finally accrued over 16 million gained (roughly $12,000) in debt. The teenager’s dad and mom helped repay the debt, however the expertise led to strained friendships, withdrawal from college and psychological well being struggles, together with anxiousness and melancholy.
Instances like these spotlight the regarding pattern of youthful teenagers, notably center college college students, changing into concerned in playing, with a rising quantity turning to extremely addictive on-line casinos, underscoring the pressing want for preventative measures.
In accordance with Rep. Cho Gye-won of the opposition Democratic Social gathering of Korea, knowledge from the Korea Heart on Playing Issues exhibits that the variety of youngsters receiving playing habit counseling has greater than doubled from 1,286 in 2020 to 2,665 by the top of August this 12 months.
Whereas extra teenagers are in search of assist, the severity of their habit has not lessened. These labeled as having probably the most extreme habit, or “drawback degree” gamblers, additionally elevated from 362 (65.1 p.c) in 2020 to 582 (66.4 p.c) this 12 months.
Worryingly, the speed of profitable playing cessation one 12 months after remedy has dropped considerably, from 49.2 p.c in 2020 to only 24.9 p.c in 2023, indicating that extra teenagers are struggling to interrupt free from playing as soon as they begin.
One troubling pattern is the lower within the age of playing habit. 4 years in the past, highschool college students (ages 17 to 19) made up 80.5 p.c of these in search of assist, however that determine has dropped to 55 p.c this 12 months.
In the meantime, the share of center college college students (ages 14 to 16) has grown from 12.8 p.c in 2020 to twenty.6 p.c.
Given the heightened peer affect at youthful ages, specialists warn that playing habit may unfold extra simply amongst youthful teenagers.
The kind of playing can be shifting. Whereas using sports activities betting amongst teenagers has dropped sharply from 48.2 p.c in 2020 to 9.2 p.c this 12 months, on-line on line casino participation has surged by practically 14 instances, rising from 8.9 p.c in 2020 to 59 p.c this 12 months.
On-line casinos are notably dangerous resulting from their accessibility by way of smartphones and the immediacy of outcomes in comparison with different types of playing, making them extra addictive for youngsters.
Cho referred to as for stricter crackdowns and harsher penalties for unlawful playing websites, in addition to extra strong efforts to shut and block entry to those platforms.
“Since playing is just not at present included within the habit prevention schooling supplied at faculties on the discretion of principals, the Ministry of Tradition, Sports activities and Tourism and the Ministry of Training should collaborate to strengthen coverage cooperation and swiftly amend the related rules,” he mentioned.
This text from the Hankook Ilbo, a sister publication of The Korea Occasions, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Occasions.