Under the influence: Kids as young as 12 lured into online gambling

Social media is being used by gambling influencers who are broadcasting themselves betting on dog and horse races, playing poker machines and online poker games. And children are getting caught in the crossfire.

A state government study found almost 30 per cent of kids aged 12 to 17 had gambled in the past 12 months – and had first gambled when they were 12.

Authorities are concerned children as young as 12 are being lured into gambling by watching social media videos that are being posted by “influencers” who boast large wins.

The nation’s advertising watchdog is vowing to look at gamblers who are live-broadcasting videos of themselves betting on dog and horse races, playing poker machines and online poker games.

Some OnlyFans models are even using gambling to attract more viewers.

The Sunday Telegraph is aware of dozens of Australians who have created social media and streaming accounts to create content around high stakes gambling – with the Australian Communications and Media Authority confirming it was aware of these accounts.

“We are looking into these reports to assess whether they are promoting services that are illegal in Australia,” a spokesman said.

“The ACMA will soon be issuing a compliance alert to influencers to put them on notice that promotion of illegal gambling services may put them in breach of Australian law.”

One parent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said their 12-year-old asked to bet on “the dogs and horses” after watching a streamer.

Gambling influencers post about themselves playing poker machines, touting their winnings.

A gambling influencer streamed himself playing online slots.

“He was seeing them win all this money and was telling us the plans he had to spend money if he could win it – a new Xbox, new soccer boots,” the parent said.

“He was really drawn into the idea of how much money he could make because of these guys. We looked at his search history on the computer and he had typed questions like ‘how to bet on the dogs in Sydney’, and even betting websites.

“It was a shock to the system for us.”

Dr Mark Johnson, a senior lecturer at The University of Sydney, said: “If you’re exposed to this stuff younger it makes it seem normal, then it becomes more likely to gamble later in life”.

There is growing concern children are being lured into gambling by watching social media videos.

A recent state government study found almost 30 per cent of kids aged 12 to 17 had gambled in the preceding 12 months – and had first gambled when they were 11 or 12.

Jon Redman, who streams himself betting thousands at a time, said he didn’t believe he was doing anything wrong and “wasn’t encouraging people to gamble. I’ve never told a person to gamble. I’ve never influenced a person to gamble where they’re out of their comfort zone”.

“People say: ‘How much should I put on it?’ I say as much as you’re comfortable with.” Redman said he doesn’t hide his losses from his 10,000 followers.

“If you’re selling a false dream, which these people are, I believe that’s the real contributor to losing. I was down $7500 on my greyhound tips two weeks ago,” he said.

“That was publicly listed on my Instagram profile so I don’t have the false bravado when I lose … everything I do is completely 100 per cent truthful”.

Dr Sally Gainsbury, the Director of the Gambling Treatment and Research Clinic, sounded the alarm on these influencers whose videos she says could be attractive to young people.

“Gambling advertisements are not supposed to be shown in places which are predominantly for young people,” she said.

“That’s usually the target audience of influencers, people who are younger than the legal age who are allowed to be shown gambling advertisements”.

“They’re (influencers) showing them gambling in a really unrealistic format which is likely to be highly influential and have a very negative impact”.

A spokesperson for federal federal Communications Minister Anika Wells said social media companies had an obligation to protect young people from this content, and urged people to report it.

“Anyone with concerns about content they see online should report it to the platform using the ‘report’ buttons and to the relevant regulatory body,” they said.

“Our government has introduced stronger classifications to protect children from gambling content in video games and created mandatory pre-verification on gambling sites to further protect children from harm.”

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Originally published as Under the influence: Kids as young as 12 lured into online gambling