Prevalence studies consistently demonstrate that, among youth, gambling and problem gambling are significant issues. Why is it that so few youth present for treatment? The Drug and Alcohol Treatment Information System (Datis) report (2000) shows the following:

• youth under 16 years of age represent 0.2% of the treatment population;
• 16 to 17 year-olds represent 0.8% of the treatment population; and
• 18 to 24 year-olds represent 5.8% of the treatment population.

There is a clear jump in youth seeking treatment after age 18. It would appear that a combination of factors, rather than just one, explains this discrepancy. In fact, in their paper “Why Don’t Adolescent Problem Gamblers Seek Treatment?”, Griffiths and Chevalier (2001) propose 10 explanations, including the following:

• spontaneous remission and/or maturing out of adolescent gambling problems;
• adolescents constantly being “bailed out” by parents; and
• the scarcity, or inappropriate nature, of adolescent treatment programs.

Generally, youth and their families do not consider gambling to be an activity that has risk attached to it. There is a stigma attached to seeking help, and young people, feeling shame about having a problem that has not received much public attention, may be reluctant to reach out for assistance.

In dealing with youth, the justice system, schools and community workers often do not view gambling as a serious problem, and treat it more lightly than alcohol or drug use.

It is not unusual to find that a youth’s problematic gambling is just one component in a larger pattern of high-risk behaviours. Because groups working with youth focus more on issues related to alcohol, drugs, depression and sexual activity, these problems can often mask the existence of a concurrent problem with gambling. Administering screening instruments through youth workers may help identify problem gambling behaviour among youth.

Even among youth who are identified as experiencing problems, lack of awareness and inadequate education are major hurdles to helping these youth deal with gambling problems. Also, programs that require abstinence may create a reluctance to seek treatment.