December 2000

Class of '98 -- Gambling Among Minnesota's Youth

by Dr. Randy Stinchfield
University of Minnesota Medical School

Legalized gambling in Minnesota has expanded dramatically over the past decade with the introduction of the state lottery and the development of a number of casinos. This is the first generation of Minnesota youth to be exposed to widespread legalized gambling and advertising of gambling. One cannot listen to the radio, watch TV, read a newspaper, or attend a professional sporting event, without being exposed to the advertisement of gambling. The graduating class of 1998 was in the 4th grade when the state lottery was introduced and many casinos were opening around the state. The Minnesota Department of Education started collecting gambling information on 6^th, 9^th, and 12^th grade public school students in 1992 and has collected subsequent gambling data on 9^th and 12^th grade students in 1995 and 1998. At this point in time, we have gambling data on 122,700 6^th, 9^th, and 12^th grade public school students in 1992; 75,900 9^th and 12^th grade students in 1995; and 78,000 9^th and 12^th grade students in 1998. These are the largest youth gambling databases in the country.

Students completed a paper-and-pencil questionnaire in class and were asked how often in the past 12 months they: (a) played cards for money; (b) bet money on games of personal skill like pool, golf, or bowling; (c) bet money on sports teams; (d) bought lottery tickets or scratch offs; and (e) gambled in a casino. The casino item was asked only in 1998, so we do not have any data comparison data for 1992 and 1995. Because data was collected every three years on 6^th, 9^th, and 12^th grade students, it is possible to follow a class of students because the 6^th graders in 1992 were asked the gambling questions as 9^th graders in 1995 and again as 12^th graders in 1998.

The survey shows that the majority of students gambled at least once during the past year, however, most did not gamble on a frequent basis (i.e., weekly/daily rate) and most did not report any problems associated with their gambling. Figure 1 shows the percent of 12^th grade girls and 12^th grade boys who played each game on a weekly or more frequent basis. More boys than girls gamble frequently. For both boys and girls in the class of '98, the lottery was the form of gambling played most frequently. Many of these 12^th grade students were under 18 years of age for the past 12 months, so there appears to be some degree of underage gambling.

Figures 2 and 3 show the rates of frequent gambling for the class of '98 as they progressed from 6^th to 9^th grades and became the 12^th grade class of '98. In Figure 2, we see that the percent of boys gambling frequently increased for all games from 6^th to 12^th grades and the lottery showed a significant increase from 9^th to 12^th grade. In Figure 3, we find that the percent of girls gambling frequently remained steady for most games except that girls also showed a significant increase in frequent lottery play from 9^th to 12^th grade. On the one hand, this is good news that few 6^th and 9^th grade students are involved in frequent underage gambling with the lottery. On the other hand, this increase in frequent lottery play in the 12^th grade is of concern. Legalized gambling is an adult behavior and adolescents are on their way to becoming adults and want to experiment with adult behaviors. However, we need to teach adolescents and young adults about their choices regarding gambling and that if they choose to gamble, they will most likely lose their money and they need to follow rules to avoid losing more money than they can afford to lose. We also need to watch for signs of problem gambling among those adolescents who are frequent gamblers and who appear to become over-involved with gambling.

With the rapid expansion of gambling has also come concerns about underage gambling and youth problem gambling. This is the first generation of youth to be exposed to such widespread and easy access to a variety of gambling opportunities, gambling advertising, and a general social approval for inherently risky activity that was once prohibited. Of course, gambling advertisements do not show the masses of people who lose their money gambling. Youth may not understand the inherent risks of gambling and the low probability of winning, and therefore may be susceptible to this type of promotion. In some circles of youth, gambling may be considered a new "rite of passage" into adulthood. It will be important to monitor gambling among youth, develop and evaluate prevention programs for youth showing early signs of over-involvement in gambling, and develop and evaluate interventions for youth with gambling problems.

Gambling Problems Resource Center
2720 Highway 10
Mounds View, MN 55112