NEWS FROM

THE NEW YORK COUNCIL

ON PROBLEM GAMBLING                  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Mariangela Milea 518/427-1622                        November 1, 2005

e-mail: mmilea@nyproblemgambling.org

NEW ZOGBY RESULTS REVEAL GAMBLING AMONG NEW YORK’S MINORS IS A MAJOR PROBLEM

The New York Council on Problem Gambling (NYCPG) today announces the results of a recent Zogby survey of 451 randomly called high school students and their parents regarding participation and views on teen gambling in New York state.

“One-in-five (21%) of teenagers, overall, say they have friends who spend too much time gambling and placing bets, this rate doubles (40%) among 18-year-olds,”  said James Maney NYCPG Executive Director.

 “While 35% of teens admit to gambling in the past year, only 25% of parents said their teenage son or daughter had gambled during the same period,” said Maney. “Teens often don’t share with their parents that they are gambling, and thus parents can‘t feel confident that their teen is not gambling.

“Though much more prevalent in teen males (47%) than females (25%), gambling is a growing concern for both--manifesting itself in different ways,” said Maney.  “Among teens who gamble, male students are twice as likely as females to bet most frequently on Texas Hold ‘em poker or other card games (52% to 24%, respectively) and sports (21% to 10%). But, females are almost five times as likely as males to bet most frequently on scratch-offs or the lottery (48%) compared to male teens (10%) even though by law persons under the age of 18 can not purchase them.

“The survey results also clearly show that parents expect educators to be their partners in preventing underage gambling and the development of problem gambling traits in their children,” said Maney.  “A full two-thirds (66%) of parents say they believe that teachers, guidance counselors, and coaches should be active in that effort. 

“For the New York Council on Problem Gambling, the challenges ahead are twofold: to bring parents together with educators, and increase parents’ awareness of teen gambling and the signs of problem gambling in their children,” said Maney. “Particular attention must be paid to older teens, who are more likely to hide such behavior.

“The release of these statistics confirms our concerns that many adolescents are gambling, that parents are frequently not aware of it, and that very little education on adolescent problem gambling warning signs is being provided,” said Maney.

“Given the results of the Zogby survey it is obvious that teen gambling is a major problem,” said Maney. “In response, the New York Council on Problem Gambling is currently organizing an “Adolescent Problem Gambling Symposium”, which will deal with establishing educational, policy and research priorities to address these worrisome findings.

“Gambling is not a harmless activity. It is a pastime that can develop into a ruinous problem that can affect anybody.  We need increased efforts to prevent problem gambling in New York, and starting with teens is an essential part of these prevention efforts,” concluded Maney.  

            Zogby poll results contain a margin of error: plus or minus 4.7 percentage points on the full sample.  Anyone interested in obtaining information regarding these results or the Symposium, please contact the Council at: 518/427-1622 or e-mail at: council@nyproblemgambling.org.

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