Do young people gamble?
In this activity, participants compare statistics around young people's gambling with other risk taking behaviours. It provides an opportunity to explore why gambling is so prevalent among young people.
Time:
10-15min
Resources:
Pens
Materials to print:
Statistics Cards, Practitioner answer sheet
Method
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Provide the group with a set of ‘Statistics Cards’, which outline various risk-taking behaviours.
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Ask the group to put the cards in order from what they estimate to have the lowest percentage, to the highest
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As the group discuss the order, ask what factors may cause participation in these risk-taking behaviours to go up and down (e.g. education, parent participation, advertising, trends).
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This may be a good time to discuss the different ways young people might gamble, and why they might gamble.
- Once the group have decided on their final answer, reveal the correct order and associated statistics. You can facilitate discussion around what participants may have found interesting, why gambling is so prevalent, and how gambling harm is addressed in school and other settings, compared with other risk-taking behaviours.
Alternative options:
This game can be done in pairs or in small groups.
Instead of reading from the answer sheet, you may want to write the answers on the back of each card once printed.
You could give one card to four different participants and then ask the group to form a line from the person with the card with the lowest percentage to the one with the card with the highest percentage.
Additional notes:
It should be noted that this research was done UK wide, the prevalence of each activity and the order of past week participation may differ in different areas.