Last week, I had the privilege to attend the Singapore Problem Gambling Conference.
During the course of the two days conference, I have learnt that gambling is a progressive problem. A person does not become a problem gambler overnight. Usually, one who does not gamble may start off with social gambling and if not well controlled, the gambling behaviour may progress to at-risk gambling behaviours to problem gambling and even pathological gambling behaviours.
It also alerted me to the rising trends of youth participating in gambling related activities. That reminded me of instances whereby I have heard of young people playing mahjong or cards (with some amount of money involved) during festive occasions. These may seem to be harmless recreational activities, but I've learnt that if youths are not taught appropriate skills to cope with life's stressors, and learn skills of self-control, they may be at higher risk of developing into problem gamblers much later in their lives.
With regards to the issue of Youth Gambling, I would like to point my readers to this site: http://www.youthgambling.com. It provides some useful information on why the issue of youth gambling deserves our attention. The site also provides resources related to curbing youth gambling.
For a serious read. I suppose.
No comments:
Post a Comment