New Jersey legislators are considering a bill that would incorporate gambling education into high school curriculums.
Senate Bill 3666 would provide children and young adults with information on how to make educated choices and the dangers of developing a gambling addiction.
Key Takeaways
- A state Senator said that about 20 percent of teenagers are at risk of gambling addiction
- New Jersey is one of 38 states that offer legal sports betting services
- A gambling addiction can increase feelings of depression and anxiety
According to the bill’s co-sponsor, and Senate President Pro Tempore, Shirley Turner (D-District 15), the bill was necessitated by the growing popularity of New Jersey online sports betting.
Even if high school students can’t create an account at legal sportsbooks, which require that customers must be 21, they are exposed to gambling content online. They can also access gambling platforms through friends and family members.
“Those numbers (of young gamblers) have dramatically increased because every child has a cell phone now,” Turner said. “This is becoming entirely too prevalent.”
Young people are also more impressionable than adults and are therefore more prone to developing addictive personality traits. Turner claimed that about 20 percent of teenagers are at risk of developing a gambling addiction and likened the phenomenon to experimentation with drugs and alcohol.
“This is something we need to get our arms around and try to prevent these young people from destroying their lives,” she said.
How the bill would implement change
The bill outlines a structure in which the Commissioner of Education would provide school districts with resources to identify and correct behavioral patterns associated with problem gambling.
Teachers in the health and physical education departments would be tasked with educating students. Teaching material would cover the dangers of gambling addiction, financial risks, understanding the unpredictability of sports betting, indicators of dangerous behavior, and more.
Educators would also be in charge of discussing the link between gambling addiction and mental health, which affects many high school students. The stress and losses associated with gambling often increase feelings of depression and anxiety.
The bill already has an important co-sign from the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey (CCGNJ).
“The CCGNJ believes that educating students about compulsive gambling will help to prevent problem gambling, especially given the abundance of gambling opportunities and related advertising in our state,” the council said in a statement.
“The CCGNJ has a long history of delivering presentations to schools throughout New Jersey to educate kids in an effort to prevent problem gambling. This month, the CCGNJ has begun to administer a ‘comprehensive prevention program’ to address youth at-risk behavior, which includes gambling.”
Students struggle to fight gambling-related issues
In nearby New York, The New York Council on Problem Gambling in 2022 found that 23 percent of students gambled at least once within the last year. Thirty percent also said that it was easy to get involved in gambling.
Around eight percent of students aged 12-17 had gambling addictions, and 10-14 percent were at risk of developing these behaviors.
Factors that placed students at greater risk of developing a gambling addiction included irresponsible parental guidance and enforcement, loud conflicts, antisocial personality traits, drug-interested peers, low interest in school material, and depression.
