Speaking about gaming - a lot of video games have gambling elements. I see no difference from placing a bet and spinning a roulette and purchasing a wheel spin to get a random weapon/skin/game boost. And it is little strange to get age limitation for gambling, when lots of video games content rating system, and underaged kids easily get those 18+ or PEGI 18 games with bad language and violence. Dont you find it strange to hear little kids discuss how many players, monsters, unites they have killed and what methods they used, and on the other part of scale we get gambling only from 18+ ?
I have indeed noticed such a thing, actually. My theory is there is not as much stigma on videogames as there is for traditional gambling and the interactions teens and children could have with gambling, because of it it is why it is easier to see teens and children playing videogames which they are not supposed to, than attending to casinos or betting houses.
There is quite a good example for it in the game called GTA San Andreas. It is not only about the violence and sexual innuendos one can find inside the game, but it also has an many gambling elements inside of it full functional casinos, horse race betting, poker, roulette... Even though it does not involve actual money, one cannot underestimate those could.be the first steps of a young person to become a gambler.
Also, The oldest pokemon games and their remakes used to have literal slots for children to play, but they got replaced with other mini games which did not involve randomness.
Moreover, in this current era, with the increasingly significant development of technology and online gambling, it makes it easy for teenagers and children to get to know and start playing various gambling games, moreover, almost every child has their own personal cell phone.
When it comes to physical casinos or betting shops then there are only few of children who come and bet but they are usually in their teens and adults and not many do it.
However, it is not the fault of developing technology or online gambling which is increasingly developing rapidly, but it is the fault of parents who fail to supervise and educate their children to be in the right environment.
If children in the past, around 15 to 20 years ago, might still have preferred games or video games with PlayStation because cellphones were not as sophisticated as they are today and only few children had sophisticated cellphones.
But now that civilization has changed so that everyone can do anything anywhere without any restrictions or difficulties, this is the reason why there is freedom for anyone, including children or teenagers, to access gambling site.