The Dutch Gaming Authority (KSA) has found that gambling activity increases sharply when young people reach the legal age, with 11% of accounts opened by 18-year-olds created on their birthday. The findings have renewed debate over gambling protections for young adults.
The KSA examined 15,761 newly funded gambling accounts and noticed that players aged 18 to 24 comprised 33% of the new accounts. Of these, 41% were made by persons just turning 18 and 38% opened their accounts within a month from their 18th birthdays.
The most popular gambling form of entertainment turned out to be casino games with 72% of young adult players picking it, compared to 11% of those gambling on sports. In the first quarter of gambling experience, young adults had an average of four gambling days, placing an average stake of €111.
They also discovered that gambling exposure usually starts way before a person reaches the legal age for gambling. The results of a separate study of 50 individuals aged between 16 and 21 showed that the first gambling exposure usually occurs between 8 and 12 years, mainly through scratch cards, lotteries, and informal family bets.
By the age of 12 to 14 gambling was related to socializing and most commonly happened with friends or even through football pools. One of the study participants argued that underage people frequently use accounts of older relatives to circumvent the gambling age restriction.
The study results come amid the call for the online gambling age in the Netherlands to rise from 18 to 24. Meryam Sümer from the Christian Democratic Party has backed the proposal, while the KSA has warned that stricter age limits could push young adults towards unlicensed gambling platforms.