Winter 1996/1997
There are few activities that have seen more growth and change in Minnesota over the past five years than gambling. Winning lottery numbers are drawn live on television. Odds on sporting events, results of horse and dog races and advertising for casinos are carried daily in our newspapers. Outdoor boards, T.V. and radio ads communicate the easy availability of gambling. In just a few years, gambling has become part of our daily lives.
Gambling has also been changing for young people. It is no longer limited to a Saturday night poker game or the annual Super Bowl or World Series pool. As high school students turn 18, they are legally able to buy lottery tickets and pull tabs, play bingo and enter casinos to gamble. A casino trip on an 18th birthday has become a new rite of passage for hundreds of young people, and many are finding ways to do this long before they turn 18 years of age.
As legal gambling opportunities have increased in Minnesota during the past few years, so have the concerns of parents, teachers, clergy, human services professionals and legislators regarding youth involvement in gambling. Media attention to examples of criminal activity associated with youth gambling have increased public awareness of potential risks of gambling by young people. Youth of today are the first to grow up in an era when gambling is not only socially accepted but also promoted extensively. While the long-term effects of this are still unclear and difficult to predict, more and more experts are expressing concern over the increased potential for future problems.
This edition of Beyond the Odds is designed to review gambling among young people in Minnesota, increase awareness of the risks associated with gambling as well as resources available to help young people make informed choices about whether, when and how much to gamble.
—Roger Svendsen
(The billboard Gambling: It's Not a Cheap Thrill! was created by the Duluth Denfeld High School DECA Club as a public relations project.)
In This Issue
Type of gambling resulting in calls to the Hotline in 1995
