Education Info
Responsible gambling education aims to support students by providing the information and skills necessary for them to make informed choices that will enchance their wellbeing.
This website provides educators, young people and members of the community with access to:
- Responsible Gambling Teaching Resource Kit resources and information for schools;
- School Stuff websites for students;
- activities that invite students to use investigative strategies such as:
- Action research
- TELSTAR;
- the Responsible Gambling Education Principles and Guidelines to help schools incorporate responsible gambling into planning and curriculum;
- professional development information and resources for school teachers; and
- links to external sites relevant to responsible gambling education.
Responsible gambling education seeks to inform children and young people of the risks involved in gambling and the consequences of gambling if it becomes a frequent or an addictive behaviour. It is a proactive measure to ensure that they are informed of the risks involved and aware of the significant effects that gambling can have on the social, economic and general wellbeing of individuals, families and society.
Research indicates that those 18 years and under are most at risk for developing addictive patterns of behaviour, including problem gambling (Jacobs, 2000), and that young people are unlikely to have the skills and strategies to manage their gambling and to avoid financial and personal difficulties (Volberg & Lamar Moore, 1999).
A recent study carried out with school-aged young people in the ACT found that between 3.3-4.4% were considered to be problem gamblers (Delfabbro, Lahn and Grabosky, 2005). Canadian research reveals that the rate of problem gambling among adolescents is twice as high as that of adult problem gamblers. The majority of adult problem gamblers have reported commencing gambling in their teens. Some admitted to gambling as young as 9 or 10 years old (Gupta & Derevensky 1998).
School-based education strategies can inform young people about responsible gambling, and support those considered at-risk or demonstrating problem-gambling behaviours (Williams et al, 2004). In the long term, responsible gambling curriculum has the potential to impact on the larger population.
The Queensland Government has developed information for teachers and parents which provide some strategies for counteracting some of the messages young people receive about gambling in their everyday lives. The brochure "Are you gambling with a child's future" (PDF 1,455 K) is available to download.
Last reviewed 16 September 2008