Risk Factors of Adolescent Pathological Gambling: Permissive Gambling Culture and Individual Factors

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the relationships between types of gambling activity, problem behaviors, and self-esteem with adolescent problem gambling in Hong Kong. From a sample of 2,258 students aged between 12 and 17, study results showed that playing Poker and gaming in Amusement Game Centers (entertainment venues with gaming machines) had the strongest predictive value, implying a gambling-permissive culture regarding gambling as an entertainment, with parental and societal support and availability of gambling opportunities, has more impact on adolescent problem gambling than other personal risk factors like problem behaviors and low self-esteem. Prevention strategies at individual and societal levels are discussed.

Notes

¹ AGCs in Hong Kong are licensed by the public officer appointed by the Secretary for Home Affairs Bureau (“appointed public officer”) under the Amusement Game Centres Ordinance (Cap. 435). There are two types of AGCs, namely the adult gaming centers for persons of the age 16 or above, and children centers for persons under the age of 16. According to Cap.435, the licensee must not install machines/devices with games that contravene the Gambling Ordinance (Cap. 148); and no bet shall be wagered or paid the premises, nor shall any person offer or receive any advantage to be determined by the result of any game played on a machine or device; and no prizes or cash refund shall be offered or given to any person in consequences of the results of any game on a machine or device. Now there are 413 adult gaming centers and 25 children gaming centers. Amusement gaming center is an indoor playground where players play the game machines (i.e., slot machine or video games) or other gaming facilities (i.e., basketball shooting game). Game machines are played with tokens/coins. Players can win the tokens through some games but it is not allowed to redeem any gift or exchange to coin/cash. Players can accumulate the token for playing the games in the future only. It is illegal if the gaming centers allow the customer to exchange the token into coins/ cash. (In Website of HKSAR, HAB, and Administration’s Paper of Legislative Council Panel.)

² Illegal middlemen stayed at the AGCs who help the players to record the information of win/ lose and exchange the bonus to cash with discount (Apple Daily News, 2013).

³ List Randomizer is available at http://www.random.org/lists/

⁴ In Hong Kong, students have to study from Form One to Form Six in secondary school before they sit for a public examination for university entry. Students in Form One were excluded in this study as they were mostly at the age of eleven if they were asked if they had gambled in the past year.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Kit-wan Ho

KIT-WAN HO is an Assistant Professor in Department of Applied Social Sciences at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Her key research areas include gambling, youth development, and program plan and evaluation. Currently, her research team is commissioned by the government to conduct another prevalence study on gambling in Hong Kong.