Beware Of Children Gambling On Internet, Thai Experts Warn

[webfact]

Beware of children gambling on Internet, experts warn
Tanpisit Lerdbamrungchai
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- An academic and a doctor warned parents yesterday to beware of online gambling among children during school summer vacation.

Children who can access the Internet could easily access online gambling, and being allowed to put low bets on, more juveniles could wager online.

A survey showed that Thai children as young as seven had tried online gambling, Siriporn Yodkamonsat, an academic at the Centre for Gambling Studies, said at a discussion in Bangkok yesterday on gambling among juveniles during school break.

Siriporn said they could even use real money to play a Facebook betting game, Bingo & Slots Friendzy. A website offered a card game that was the same as playing cards at a gambling den. Internet users also talked on many web-boards about how to gamble.

Taweesin Visanuyothin, director of the Institute of Child and Adolescent Ratchanakharin Mental Health, said parents should watch for changes in their children's behaviour to see if they are addicted to gambling.

Children suspected of gambling could lie, borrow their friends' money, suffer worse academic achievement, have problems with time management, prefer being alone, spend more money and have quarrels with people in their family.


-- The Nation 2013-04-10

[Bluespunk]

i dont gamble so could be wrong but don't you need a credit card or an account with 'real' money in it with the gambling sites to gamble online? is it that easy to gamble by just promising to pay later? i can see flaws in that business plan already.

Edited April 10, 2013 by Bluespunk

[retell]

so how do they send the money to the game ? can only do with an online banking or paypal

i tried stuffing Baht coins in the usb port but that shorted out my motherboard

[A Member]

Nothing new with youngsters copying their parents who are too busy with their own lives to monitor them anyway. Do the authors of these reports think them through before opening their mouths as I can't see how anyone can gamble on line without setting up an account first ?

[JetsetBkk]

Children suspected of gambling could lie, borrow their friends' money, suffer worse academic achievement, have problems with time management, prefer being alone, spend more money and have quarrels with people in their family.

Yes, and they could get into debt, steal a bike and rob a gold shop... and... and...

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

[horsewell]

A few years back I came across a computer gambling den. It was a row of computers that you could play the games on. I was told you pay the owner and they would provide the online credit to play. If someone won money, the owner would call the operator to get then send the money, if the owner of the shop couldn't cover the payout. I'm sure there are a lot of different systems in place. I would seem perfect for children who could pay 50B or 100B to get some "skin in the game".

It's a good lesson if they lose all their play money but it's the hope of winning that keeps most people going back for more. If they only knew that it's software: payouts are likely to be random and the house always gets their cut, which is probably a lot more than in a legal gambling establishment.

Edited April 10, 2013 by horsewell

[DocN]

Here we go again: the evil internet!

Root of all that is bad in world!

...besides Heavy Metal - music!

[OzMick]

News flash - there is no shortage of gambling opportunities in this country without resorting to the internet.

[rotorbreeze]

Children suspected of gambling could lie, borrow their friends' money, suffer worse academic achievement, have problems with time management, prefer being alone, spend more money and have quarrels with people in their family.

Yes, and they could get into debt, steal a bike and rob a gold shop... and... and...

The sky is falling! The sky is falling!

Yes self control Thai's do not have this..my Thai wife got into gambling and stole money from my account...that was years ago now divorced .... even long time girl friend steals from me..it is Karma to repay in future life events...

AS for Gambling...the new generation will have little social life in real time, most are pre-occupied on their cell phones, on mindless games... picture this.....a carrot (cell phone) the donkey has hung in front of him on a string...going forward endless with no reward... knowing the string (internet cell phone) is the first goal to cut the string will allow a reward of the prize carrot...the prize is finding the joys of personal discovery in real time...priceless. After reading this you too can find the reward by shutting off your computer, leave the carrot... cell phone off while going out and discover the world ... you too will be amazed at the donkeys bumping into you and other donkeys at mall, mindless cell phone users talking to themselves on blue tooth. others having little concern in navigation; propelled with walking legs head down to screen focused eyes with no purpose in direction. Enough right..I am guilty of being a donkey too...a little self humor right..well have a great day and limit your use of cell phone while walking...you may be an inspiration to others whom follow the carrot! Ron

[Markaew]

It takes a "Thai Expert" to figure this out?

[Markaew]

News flash - there is no shortage of gambling opportunities in this country without resorting to the internet.

Absolutely! I have seen cases AND heard stories about Thais losing their cars, houses, etc as a result of card games. Not all at one time but an addiction where all their cash disappears and they can't maintain their belongings. This is very common.

[JetsetBkk]

News flash - there is no shortage of gambling opportunities in this country without resorting to the internet.

I have heard that funerals are not only popular venues for gambling, but virtually accepted by all and sundry as "the norm", i.e. "what else is there to do?"

[MilesofSmiles]

I typed a massive reply and bumped the forward button on my mouse.

Short version;

I've run online casinos, and personally written the (300 bloody page!!) internal controls documents for the KGC (Canada) license of a third.

Spent a lot of time in the gaming and payment industries.

Most online casinos ban Thailand due to fraud etc. I highly doubt it's changed.

No online casino will take bets on promise to pay, or non-cleared funds etc. That's absurd.

The only way a child can be gambling online is with a the parents account, or at the very least (and it's still unlikely), just their credit card.

That is neglectful parenting.

The operators running games on Facebook verify ID, are scrutinized very heavily and have no desire to target kids.

Her heart is in the right place, gambling is parasitic and provides nothing of value to the player.

She clearly has no clue about the reality of gambling online, and it's unfortunate, because she's bang-on about the rest.

I would suggest that it's local junkets and illegal operations letting the children gamble, if they are at all.

Taweesin Visanuyothin, director of the Institute of Child and Adolescent Ratchanakharin Mental Health,

said parents should watch for changes in their children's behaviour to see if they are addicted to gambling.

After the fact. Parents should set a good example for their kids, and pay attention to their peers.

Kids shouldn't be gambling at all. Period. Objectively, they're boring games anyway, so if children want to play them, it's monkey see monkey do.

Failing that, teach them about EV / probability theory. I assure you they will never want to set foot in a casino again.

EV........ E(X) = x1p1 + x2p2 + .... xnpn

Average bet * Hours played * hands/hour * house edge %

= you lose.

Luck doesn't factor into it.

Slots are "true" random, not rigged, don't need to be. The return rates are usually based on a run of 100,000 spins.

Edited August 16, 2013 by MilesofSmiles

[harrry]

Their definition of gamboling includes such things as playing Solatair or Freecell on your computer.

[ginjag]

BEWARE of all the grown-up people gambling ILLEGALLY every day in every village, town, city, the local village headman knows, the local authorities know, the police know. If you want to set an example parents, pack it in, police act on it then the kids do NOT COPY their elders. You set by example.

[Thai at Heart]

And once it starts who knows where it ends. Theft, corruption, prostitution, drugs. And none of those are in Thailand.

Bizarre attitude to the net. Internet porn bad, massive sex industry OK. Internet gambling bad, own official underground lottery OK.

[Wavefloater]

As people quickly pointed out, this assertion is ridiculous -- a credit card is required.

These types of farcical statements coming from Thais apparently hungry for the spotlight are almost non-stop These "spokespeople" must just blurt their thoughts out (in some official capacity) without ever analyzing the logic of them. Is that because they were never taught any analytical skills in school -- just rote learning in an atmosphere where asking any questions is seen as aggressive and disrespectful? Or is there so much competition for media time with these people that they jump in front of microphones and spew nonsense (that may seem believable) whenever the opportunity arises?

The fact that this guy is supposedly an academic and doctor (who gets media attention) is <deleted>' scary.

[PoolHustler]

The kids are probably playing the gambling games online with play money amongst there friends but paying up with real money to who wins