Canadian Students to be Educated on Responsible Gambling
The Canadian Responsible Gambling Council announced this week that its non-profit organization Kts2 (know the score) will be touring over forty campuses in the nation this year to spread the message about responsible wagering.
Throughout the year, Kts2 representatives will initiate its gambling education program by talking to Canadian university students that gamble as well as those that don't about the myths and realities associated with gambling.
The tour will focus on four important responsible gambling messages:
- The player's chances of winning and losing through gambling.
- Signs of problem gambling.
- Where students can seek help if they think they have a gambling problem.
- How to gamble safely.
The Responsible Gambling Council believes that the tour is kicking off at the right time, because of the increase in online and mobile casinos and the simultaneous availability of gambling-friendly smartphones and tablets.
The Council has listed a number of signs that students should look out for to indicate whether they have a gambling problem. These include: talking or thinking constantly about gambling; spending more time or money on gambling that is affordable; feeling irritable or moody when trying to cut down; chasing losses; and finding themselves in financial trouble due to gambling habits.
Gambling Not a Problem on Canadian Campuses
One of the campuses that Canada's Responsible Gambling Council's Kts2 will visit is the University of New Brunswick. One of the students, Sarit Mukhopadhyay, who doesn't gamble himself, said: "I don't think a lot of people notice that they gamble."
"While I don't think gambling is a big problem at this age, maybe they get into it now and then it develops into a real problem later on. If you gamble once or twice, you might not notice or think you have a gambling problem, but then after a while it could develop into a problem."
The student development coordinator of the University of New Brunswick, Sarah Rothman confirmed that she didn't see a gambling addiction problem on campus, but that it was important for groups such as the Responsible Gambling Council to get as much information as possible out to students.
New Brunswick, where the university is located, released gambling statistics recently, showing that 1.3% of the adult population could be defined as 'problem gamblers'. The majority of these problem gamblers said that they started gambling before the age of 19.
The fear is that cash-starved students could think they are able to make 'easy money' by winning at poker, and then landing up more in debt than before because they don't know where to draw the line.
