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IN FOCUS: ARTICLE |
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Gambling: Don't Bet on Winning
by Cindy Kuzma, 07.22.03
"You rarely ever hear of the guys going to pay the book money..." |
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It doesn't take a math whiz to know that if you gamble — if you play poker with your friends, get your big sis to buy you a lottery ticket, or make a bet on your favorite basketball team — you're probably going to end up losing money.
After all, gambling is a multibillion-dollar industry — they're raking it in, not giving it away. Why do you think your bookie is taking your bets instead of placing his own?
"Say you bet $100," says Drew, who started gambling on sports when he was 14 and taking his friends' bets at 16. "If you win, you win $100. But if you lose, you can lose $110 to $125, depending on the juice the book wants to charge. And if you bet and win that $100, most likely you are going to roll that over into some other bets. I have never seen someone win more than they lose."
A Losing Prospect
OK, Drew isn't dumb, and neither are most teens. But millions of them still gamble every year. A study by the University of Florida shows that most people have placed bets by the time they reach their 12th birthday — that's earlier than the age most people first try drinking or smokingcigarettes. Between half and three-quarters of underage teens — about seven million nationwide — gamble. They know the odds are stacked against them. So why do they keep throwing their hard-earned cash down the drain?
Drew, who plays basketball, thinks athletes and other competitive kids bet on sports because it makes the game more exciting for them — almost like the rush they get when they're playing. Plus, they see their friends doing it, and they don't always get the straight story on how tough it can be. "You rarely ever hear of the guys going to pay the book money," he says, "but they will always tell you of the time they went to collect their money from the book."
Here are reasons experts say people gamble:
- Everyone else is doing it — even Mom, Dad, and Principal Skinner! Gambling is pretty socially acceptable these days. Some schools even sponsor events like after-prom casino nights. And most people start gambling with their families.
- The self-esteem boost. Everyone loves a winner, and sometimes even losers feel cool when they're waving around $20 bills.
- Escape from other problems. Like drugs and alcohol, gambling can offer a temporary reprieve from depression or just a way to take your mind off your parent's divorce or your recent breakup.
Most people can gamble for fun and never have a problem with it. (It helps if you're "legal," of course — check the laws where you live, but in most states it's 18 or 21, depending on the type of game you're playing. Also, if you're not sticking to state-sanctioned gambling (like in casinos) — if you're placing bets with a bookie — you're participating in a criminal enterprise and could be arrested!) Chad, for example, lost $40 on a scratch-off lottery ticket on his 18th birthday, and now occasionally bets $10 or $20 on darts. He'll never have a problem, he says, because he hates losing so much he'll never bet more money than that.
Not Just Fun and Games
Many teens do have a problem, though. Four percent of the teens in the Florida study were problem, or pathological, gamblers, and that can be as much of a problem as drug or alcohol addiction. And it can happen to anyone. The average teen who has problems with gambling is super-smart, involved in lots of activities, successful, and motivated — at least until the addiction starts to get in the way. Then, the person's likely to stop being interested in friends or activities, sell a prized CD collection to get more cash, or suddenly become moody, tired, and angry.
If you think you or a friend might have a problem with gambling, there are ways to get help. Check out the National Council on Problem Gambling Web site, or call its help line at 1-800-522-4700. Because really, there are lots of better ways to spend your hard-earned dough! |
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