NJ Teacher About Betting on Football and Other Sports

NJ Legislators Want to Educate Kids Laws & Regulations

NJ Legislators Want to Educate Kids About Problem Betting

By Lisa Spencer Senior Editor Updated: 19 April 2023

Lisa Spencer Senior Editor

As a Senior Editor at Betting.US, Lisa Spencer is a valuable member of our expert team. With a Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics, Lisa is adept in gambling theory and analyzing odds. She contributes by writing online sportsbook reviews and finding competitive markets to help our readers make an informed choice.

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With sports betting being legalized and promoted around the nation over recent years, more and more people are being exposed to this type of gambling. While it has helped states to bring in more money in the form of tax revenues and has provided convenience and greater ease to bettors, there have also been concerns about the impact of gambling addiction.

In New Jersey, legislators have raised concerns about the impact of this exposure on kids, and as such, are backing a measure that would mean school children would be taught about the dangers of gambling and the risks of addiction. This applies to both sports betting and other gambling such as online gaming.

A co-sponsor of the New Jersey bill, Assemblyman Dan Benson, said:

The bill is important for two reasons. One is the proliferation of sports betting and all the advertising, on top of online gaming which has been legal for almost a decade. It’s in [young people’s] faces all the time. They may see family members engaging in it as well.

He said that it was vital that kids were taught how to make informed decisions when it comes to gambling. He also pointed out that studies have proven that addiction is more of a risk among younger age groups.

Worrying Statistics Regarding Young Bettors and Gamblers

This comes after worrying statistics were released by the National Council on Problem Gambling. These showed that more than 80 percent of students who were still at high school had gambled money in the past year. Moreover, around five percent met the criteria for someone who was at risk of developing a gambling problem.

A bill has also been introduced in Michigan in a bid to educate students and kids about gambling and addiction, and Virginia has already managed to pass legislation to teach kids at high school about problem gambling. There have been moves to take similar action in other states, but these have not yet come to fruition.

Benson said that gambling online had become part of everyday life now, and kids were being exposed to it regularly in a variety of ways. While they cannot be targeted by sports betting operators when it comes to advertising, this doesn’t mean that they are not exposed to advertisements in one way or another.

In addition, many kids now see adults in their households going online to place bets or play games, and this means that they are also exposed to it at home. All these things can increase the chances of them going online themselves eventually starting betting and gambling, and without proper education on the dangers of gambling addiction, they could be at increased risk of issues.

Gambling Ingrained in Culture

A responsible gaming consultant, Brianne Doura-Schawohl, said that gambling had become ingrained into our culture overnight, and people were now being exposed to gambling on their phones, billboards, TV screens, in shops, and more.

She added that commitment to educating younger people about the risks had not increased in line with access to and interest in gambling and betting.