Know the Risks Campaign for Gambling Students

John Kelly, the chief executive officer of the Responsible Gambling Council in province of Saskatchewan, Canada says recent studies have found that students are in the fastest growing segment of the population to develop problems with gambling Apparently young men between the ages of 18 and 24 have a high rate of obsessive gambling behaviour, compared to other groups in the province. The Saskatchewan Liquor and Gaming Authority is funding an advertising campaign to educate young people about the dangers of gambling. The Responsible Gambling Council has recently rolled out the program at the University of Regina an obvious choice considering it's target audience. The experts say young people who are experiencing their first taste of freedom at university are especially vulnerable to online gambling and the stimulation of the games.

"People who are 18 to 24 are the most at risk to have a gambling problem," Kelly said, "Same as many other problems that people who are 18 to 24 can get into. So if you are 20 years old and you're going to have a gambling problem, you are much more likely to develop it at 20 than you are at 50." The new program is designed to educate not to preach, called "Know the Score" the campaign has one area that specifically speaks to those who gamble on the net. Video gaming has introduced many young people to the use of the net for entertainment and has made the youth of the day comfortable with gaming on the web. Unfortunately when it come to gambling online you don't have the same control that comes with mastering a video game. Kelly stated the goal of the "Know the Score" campaign is to help students consider all the potential costs, and repercussions of their actions before they start to play for money.