Introducing online gambling regulations to safeguard minors should be a priority and problem that needs to be addressed. Everybody needs their eyes open to the lack of security and regulations that exist in the online gambling domain. Minors can access gambling platforms with ease and possibly get addicted, chasing the highs of a big win. A study done by the UK Gambling Commission found that approximately “450,000 children aged between 11-16 were found to be gambling every week.” [source: UK Gambling Commission] This statistic exists because of systematic issues that need urgent attention to get these children away from gambling. Keep in mind that this issue doesn’t only exist in the United Kingdom but everywhere in the world and with online gambling it will only get worse. 

Minors today are gambling through free-to-play video games making small bets of 5 to 10 dollars for a tiny chance of winning a few hundred dollars. Here is a personal account picked from hundreds, 

“I’m 15 and I'm addicted to CS:GO gambling. Before I started playing CS:GO I never gambled or was addicted to anything. But after 2 or so months in CS:GO I started to gamble,  I would add maybe $5, $10 here and there a week. But then the addiction grew. So I started to add MORE $25, $50, Sometimes $100. All the money I ever got I would put towards CS:GO and gamble them. Then I started to take my moms card and add money from my moms account. Still just like $50 or so. Then I kept losing and wanted to add more. So I started to add $100 then $200 and just went on from there… I've spent about $25k+ and never have made money.”

[Source:https://steamcommunity.com/app/730/discussions/0/1489992713706086770/

We are calling on regulatory bodies worldwide to implement stricter regulations and enhanced security measures for online gambling. These should include robust age verification processes and mandatory spending limits among others. By doing so, we can protect vulnerable individuals like myself from falling prey to gambling addictions at such a young age.

Please sign this petition if you believe in creating safer digital environments for our youth by implementing stricter regulations on online gambling.