This is also the first general social approval of gambling. Most kids realize that gambling is a losing endeavor. But there is a minority that think they can win, and that's the group we're concerned about. And treatment for gambling addiction is often aimed solely at adults. At the same time, public support for gambling is growing.
Advertisements are common.
Gambling over the internet is a burgeoning business. The nation's gambling capital, Las Vegas, long a playland for adults, now markets itself as a family vacation destination with theme casinos. And the adult public has generally embraced the practice, including ferocious betting on the annual NCAA basketball tournament, which begins this week. In the most extreme cases, young gamblers are losing hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars a year to bookies and committing crimes like burglary and even prostitution to support their habits. Nationwide studies on underage gambling, including a 1997 study from Harvard University, estimate that up to 10 percent of adolescents are problem gamblers, more than twice the 3.8 percent rate for adults.