under-age gambling.any side effects?
Firstly gambling is a habit that becomes an addiction when not properly control and its really gonna eat you up likewise making you restless and not always focused on things you should do.
The rate at which i see young minds and teens involved in the act of gambling in my area is really alarming and because of the poor regulatory bodies controlling the laws in my area they can't really do anything about this and its really affecting this young age.
Gambling has become a thing for everyone in my locality with out any age restrictions and am just curious If this is not going to cause side effects on this young gamblers.
Just the other day i was predicting some games in the world cup in a betshop cause my network was bad so i can't stake online so i decided to go to the betshop to place the bet, then to my shock i was boy aged around 14 to 15 years who came in and gave the cashier a booking code to place the bet and give him the coupon and the cashier collected and i was like isn't this too little to be involved in such acts.
And am just curious if this won't affect the person in times to come
Minors are prohibited to gambling in most countries for a reason. It isn't imposed just because. There are many good reasons as to why underage people shouldn't engage in gambling. In my perspective, here are the things to consider valid grounds to not allow minors to be gamblers.
1.
They are not yet good decision makers. Those people who are considered to be underage which are years 18 below do not really possess the necessary knowledge just yet when it comes to making decisions on their own. They still have to be guided by their parents or guardians because their brains aren't mature enough to make sound judgments needed in taking an action, most especially when it comes to gambling.
2.
They still need to ask for their parent's consent. Related to number 1, this will prove that the minors cannot really move on their own just yet because of maturity reasons. They have to ask permission first before they can be allowed to do something or go to something. Since gambling could possess major risks in someone's life, a person who can't consent on their own and has to ask consent on their parents shouldn't be qualified and tolerated to be gambling.
3.
They don't earn money just yet. Since they are underage, they definitely are still living in the same roof with their parents. Therefore, they still have no job/s to pay for their own meal or rent, nor even spend for the things they want to like. They are still relying on the allowances being given to them by their parents or guardians. In this case, someone must not use the money allocated for a certain thing which is important just to gamble. Using your parents' hard-earned money in betting is just pure disrespect.
4.
They still have no enough concept about how the world works. Minors do not have the enough knowledge about financial management, risk assessment, risk analysis, and so on. They don't know the depth of possible repercussions the moment they engage in gambling. They have the idea of entertainment, fun, and winning money, but they don't have the idea about how to responsibly take care of them.
There are still so many reasons why minors shouldn't really be gambling on their youth. Their teenage years could be their formative years which could have an impact in the way they view life and the way how they will do things. Gambling shouldn't really be honed in those years. Instead of gambling, they should be learning about risk assessment and management, and financial literacy. So when they grew up, if ever they do want to engage in gambling in their adult years, they already have the necessary information which could help them stay in the right path and avoid being addicted in gambling.