Online gaming, sports betting and online slot machines were the gambling activities that the youth most frequently engaged in, at an average of 11 times a month. File picture
AN ONLINE research company, InfoQuest, and Responsible Gambling have raised concerns after research indicated an increase in online gambling among the youth.
Experts say access to smartphones and laptops, along with the social and entertainment aspect of gambling, posed significant risks to young people.
InfoQuest, an organisation that specialises in research into addictions, carried out a recent survey among 300 gamblers, 139 of whom were younger gamblers (aged 18 to 34 years). Findings indicated that online gaming and sports betting were the two most popular gambling activities among the youth, with playing the national lottery in third place.
The organisation’s managing director, Claire Heckrath, said that younger gamblers participated in more types of gambling activities than their older counterparts.
“The accessibility of online gambling platforms means that gambling is now an activity that can be conducted at home and anywhere.”
Heckrath said that online gaming, sports betting and online slot machines were gambling activities that the youth most frequently engaged in, at an average of 11 times a month.
“Overall, younger gamblers have been engaging in each activity for between two and three years. The possibility of winning much-needed funds is the main reason for gambling, but there is also a recreational element with some saying that it’s a fun and good way to socialise.”
Heckrath said that 39% of younger gamblers use their winnings to gamble again, while 30% claimed that they were gambling with excess funds that they had.
“As gambling becomes increasingly accessible through digital platforms, understanding these patterns is vital for developing effective policies and support systems to safeguard the well-being of young South Africans.”
Sibongile Simelane-Quntana, executive director of the South African Responsible Gambling Foundation (SARGF), said that online gambling and betting tended to target the Gen Z and Millennial markets.
“This generation is mostly internet-dependent and high users of smartphones. Research has shown that this market is saturated by ‘Youth’ punters who are also vulnerable consumers and most likely to be susceptible to the negative harmful effects of gambling. “
Simelane-Quntana said that in the 2023/24 financial year (April 1, 2023 to March, 2024) the SARGF referred 2,662 patients for gambling addiction.
“From the 2,662 referrals made through our toll-free counselling line, 1,695 were adults, followed by 787 youth, 116 were elderly, 61 did not state their age, three were minors (under the age of 18). From the 2,662 referrals,1,452 were males and 1,209 were females.”
She said with the rise and growth of online betting as the preferred and convenient mode of gambling, the shift to online betting would, therefore, have an unavoidable result of punters being addicted to online betting.
Professor David Spurrett, from the University of KwaZulu-Natal, said that technological change had made it easier to access both physical and online gambling sites.
“Gambling machines have become rapidly more compelling, and have led to more of the people who use them going on to develop gambling problems than for other kinds of gambling, and doing so more quickly.”
The second big change has been online gambling. With traditional gambling that is tied to a place (a casino, a shebeen) one way people can manage themselves is by staying away, or limiting when they go, he said.
“Our phones are with us everywhere.
“Research has strongly suggested that this makes addiction more likely. Online gambling is a 24/7 casino in your pocket, so you can’t walk out of the door. It can also be a very profitable business,” said Spurrett.
Neliswa Binda 22, a student, said that online gambling was addictive.
“Online gambling is a double-edged sword. It can be used as a form of entertainment and social interaction, but because it’s so easy to use it’s easy to get addicted. I have found myself using my study fee money to gamble online.
“Sometimes I win and sometimes I lose, but it’s the addiction that makes you gamble. I feel that there needs to be more help for people that get addicted to gambling.”
Malaika Mahlatsi, a social commentator, said she had encountered an incident where a teenager spent over R100,000 of her mother’s savings on an online gambling site.
“She has an addiction to gambling. Addiction is not simply a decision to not have self-control; it’s an illness and gambling is an addiction. The child who did this to her mom is sick. Sick people need help,” Mahlatsi added.