Stemming the scourge of underage gambling
Dear Editor,
This week, September 24-30, will be promoted as Underage Gambling Prevention Week. As the gaming industry in Jamaica continues to grow, Rise Life Management Services, through funding solely from the Betting Gaming and Lotteries Commission (BGLC), is championing the efforts to ensure underage gambling is addressed islandwide and among school-based youth specifically.
The fact is that Jamaican adolescents currently live in an era of the most legal and socially accepted gambling environment in Jamaica’s history. With that said, this special week of activities is but one of the tools within our arsenal that we will employ in an effort to reduce the incidence of gambling among youth under 18 years old.
From an anecdotal perspective, Rise Life Management Services receives calls from schools across the island seeking interventions for students involved in gambling. The main types of gambling associated with schools are dice and card games. The Ministry of Education and Youth must be congratulated for establishing and supporting the memorandum of understanding which allows Rise Life Management Services ease of access to students and other school personnel in the execution of its activities.
The first and only study done on gambling among adolescents and children in Jamaica and the Caribbean was conducted in 2007, which revealed that one in five adolescents were either a problem gambler or at risk for developing a problem with gambling. Significantly, a follow-up study on adolescent gambling in Jamaica is currently being executed and will yield data for comparison and programme development.
Underage Gambling Prevention Week seeks to incorporate preventive activities within schools and communities as we seek to ensure greater awareness among adults, adolescents, and children about the consequences of underage gambling as well as the solutions. The theme for the week is ‘Underage Gambling, Dat Nuh right’.
Rise Life Management Services, through the BGLC, will continue to develop and initiate innovative and dynamic programmes aimed at preventing underage gambling among our adolescents.
Richard Henry
Rise Life Management Services
www.risejamaica.org
