Online gambling tempts students further into debt
Students are resorting to online poker to pay off college loans, ending up deeper in debt, a gambling advisory service is warning.Young students, away from home for the first time and alone in their rooms with a laptop, are increasingly being tempted onto betting sites, according to Gamcare.
Many are particularly vulnerable because they possess poor financial skills but try to copy mathematics students whose skills enable them to be more successful, said Andy McLellan, the organisation's chief executive.
"We are picking up more and more people in these circumstances. They are in debt for the first time and wonder how to get out of it. They see maths students - who understand the risks - and believe they can do it, too," he said.
"We don't have solid statistics but there's anecdotal evidence through our helpline and we have noticed a rising tide of this abroad," he explained. "These students often don't know how to handle money and don't have the risk assessment skills required.
A US study of college students found that problem gambling affected 7.8% of students. One student was reported to have accumulated debts of $30,000. There have been calls for colleges to campaign against what has been called a "silent addiction" comparable to drug and alcohol problems.
The University of Lincoln has expressed concern about students spending their loans gambling online. One maths student told the college's newspaper, The Linc, he had set up a poker account. "There is skill involved and it is possible to win but I would never be reckless enough to risk large sums of money," he said, "While the stakes are low it remains fun but the enjoyment goes if things get out of hand."
Gamcare, established in 1997 and partially funded by the gaming industry, published a report on gambling debt this week in conjunction with the Money Advice Trust, Manchester Metropolitan University and the Salvation Army.
It urged that more should be done to "prevent people from gambling excessively" and helps those who get into trouble. It suggested that debts of up to £60,000 "might be common" amongst problem gamblers.
Understanding of the problem is inadequate, the report found. "Awareness of the help available to problem gamblers..., particularly among GPs, is equally poor. There is an urgent need to improve education about gambling for young people, alongside or as part of work on financial literacy and understanding chance and risk.
One recommendation was for firms to help vulnerable employees by blocking access to gambling websites at work.
The government's Responsible Gambling Strategy Board this week also recommended developing "an integrated approach to problem gambling services in partnership with the NHS [and] training for GPs, primary care practitioners and other professionals to identify and screen for problem gambling."
It also called for a national helpline that was "independent and separate of any existing treatment services".
According to the Gambling Commission's 2007 prevalence survey, 68% of the UK population had gambled within the past year and problem gambling was estimated to be running at 0.5-0.6% of adults. Hong Kong, the USA and South Africa all have higher reported rates of problem gambling
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