Gambling

It is all the craze on TV... is it that way at your school? Do you like to play video online poker or Texas Hold 'em with your friends? Do you bet money? How much is too much? Is gambling really bad? This section will help you to answer some of these questions as well as help you to understand the word Addiction and how hundreds of people become addicted to gambling each year.

What is gambling exactly?

Every time you risk money or an object of value on a game with the chance of winning more, you are gambling.

EXAMPLES INCLUDE:

Lottery tickets/Scratch tickets
Bingo
Poker/Blackjack
Sports betting/Sports lottery
Money gambled on a game of pool or any other game of skill
Casino games
Video lottery terminals (VLT)
Internet gambling
Dice

Myth: When you know the rules of a game (e.g., poker), you increase your chances of winning.

Fact: Knowing the rules of a game, such as poker, can help you to a certain extent but the odds are always stacked against you. Plus, you have no control over the cards being dealt.


Myth: If you are a good video game player, you will be a good VLT player.

Fact: A videogame requires skill; the more you play the better you become. A VLT machine, just like any other game of chance, does not require skill. The results are completely random and you cannot influence the outcome of a VLT game.

Myth: If you keep track of previous results, you can figure out what the next results will be.

Fact: The nature of gambling is such that every event is independent of the previous one. For example, each roll of the dice is an entirely new random event and has absolutely nothing to do with the previous roll, nor will it influence the next.


Myth: It doesn't matter if you lose; eventually, if you keep gambling, you will win your money back.

Fact: It's a fact that over time you will lose more and more money, even if you do win occasionally.

Myth: If you are a "lucky" person in life, you will be lucky when gambling.

Fact: Many people who gamble believe they are lucky, yet they still lose money. Having a good luck charm or praying cannot influence the result of gambling activities.

Myth: Knowledge about teams and players will make you more likely to win when you place a bet on a sports game.

Fact: Many things can happen during the game (e.g., a key player being injured) that can turn things around completely. While sports betting is very popular amongst teens, it is the gambling activity most often associated with loss of control over gambling.


Where do you stand?

Do you find yourself thinking about gambling activities at odd times of the day and/or planning the next time you will play?

Do you find the need to spend more and more money on gambling activities?

Do you become restless, tense, fed-up, or bad tempered when trying to cut down or stop gambling?

Do you ever gamble as a way of escaping from problems?

After spending money on gambling activities do you play again another day to try to win your money back? (more than half the time you lose).

Do you lie to your family and friends to hide how much you gamble?

In the past year have you spent your school lunch money, or money for bus or train fares on gambling activities?

In the past year have you taken money from someone you live with, without their knowledge, to gamble?

In the past year have you stolen money from outside the family, or shoplifted, to gamble?

Have you fallen out with members of your family, or close friends, because of your gambling behavior?

In the past year have you missed school (5 times or more) to participate in gambling experiences?

In the past year have you gone to someone for help with a serious money worry caused by participation in gambling activities

If you have answered "Yes" to 4 or more of the above questions you may have a gambling problem. Help is available through Gamblers Anonymous. Call the Indiana Problem Gambling Hotline at 800.994.8448 for confidential referrals for you or others as well. This service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

For more information see Youth Gambling International, YouthBet & Wanna Bet? A Kid's Magazine about Gambling.