Internet gambling has
become the pastime of choice for many young Americans, but there is
often a high price to pay for what can be a very dangerous game.
Ryan is a 23-year-old recent graduate from the University of
Pennsylvania, one of America's Ivy League universities.
He is also a compulsive gambler who ran up $20,000 (around
£11,500) debt from internet gambling while at college.
"I used to play cards with friends in my social sphere," Ryan
says.
"It was a social activity that was accepted by our parents. They
thought 'They're under the same roof, we can keep an eye on them'."
Gambling has always been part of the social scene for young
Americans.
But with the explosion in popularity of poker - live and on the
internet - more young people are now getting into serious trouble.
Poker nights
Unlike with drugs or alcohol, most young people have no idea that
they are at risk of becoming addicted to gambling.
They see it as a fun and glamorous activity.
Parents are often unaware of the dangers gambling can pose to
their children.
In fact, many parents regard gambling as a harmless pastime and
actually encourage their children to while away their leisure time
playing cards.
Ryan's mother and father readily admit that they opened their
doors to Ryan's school friends for poker nights, delighted that
their son was socialising in the apparent safety of their own home.
"It was good to know they were here," says Ryan's
mother. "We could see what they were doing. They were a couple of
steps away. They were right in the dining room, I was in the kitchen
and they were having a good time."
Ryan's father was also happy about his son's poker playing.
"It was a false sense of security, knowing where all your kids
are," he says.
"They would come around the dining room table - six, eight, 10
kids on a Friday or Saturday night.
"They were in clear sight. They were not drinking or smoking
dope."
Call for help
But Ryan's parents soon discovered these poker nights were not
the harmless fun they imagined.
Ryan's father recalls the night his son confessed to his
addiction.
"I was working midnights that night," he says, "and he called me
on my cell-phone at two or three in the morning.
"He was in tears, like: 'I gotta talk to you dad'. He was crying
and I woke up completely mentally then from thinking it was just a
normal phone call. He shocked me in a way.
"He said 'I'm having a problem. I'm very deeply in debt and I owe
money'. I thought he said $1,800 but he said 'no dad, it's $18,000
dollars'."
Ryan's mother remembers the shock and disbelief at discovering
how destructive her son's gambling had become.
"I didn't believe it. I said to him 'Ryan you're not gambling are
you?' and he started to break down and said 'yes'.
"I couldn't believe it. I didn't have a clue. I was totally
shocked and very disappointed. This is money that he's going to pay
back. But still, this is something that's going to affect him for
the rest of his life."
Secret life
Gambling is very much a hidden addiction.
Unlike drinking or taking drugs, there are very few
warning signs that parents can pick up on.
Ryan's mother and father saw nothing abnormal in their son's
behaviour, which is why they did not even think about the possible
dangers of gambling.
"I didn't realise it was a disease because you don't really see
it," says Ryan's mother.
"I mean, you look at him and you can't tell he's a gambler. He
looks fine, he's a handsome guy, polite. It's something the gambler
hides."
"You cannot tell a gambler. It could be anybody," says Ryan's
father. "It could be your wife, your daughter, it could be your
grandmother. It could be anybody."
Ryan's parents decided to seek help immediately and they enrolled
their son in a local chapter of Gamblers Anonymous.
Today, Ryan has been "clean" of gambling for almost two years.
But his dad realises that gambling will remain a threat to his son
for the rest of his life.
"It's a bug that can bite you at any time. From now until the
time he gets buried - I hate to say that - it's always there," he
says.
Education
Most schools and colleges already have programmes designed to
raise awareness about the dangers of drugs, alcohol and sexually
transmitted diseases.
But they have nothing about gambling. This is
something that has to change, says Ryan's parents.
"In high school they could have programmes," says his mother.
"They could have gambling on the curriculum along with health,
sex education and that kind of stuff. I think it would be
appropriate."
"There has to be education in colleges," adds Ryan's father,
"because the biggest thing when a kid turns 21 is 'let's go and
gamble'.
"It has to be more on the college level - make it a two hour
course every semester that kids have to go to just to refresh them
about what the penalties are in the future in life."
It is a message that Ryan would certainly endorse.
"When I was in high school, I had people come and speak about
what alcohol could do, but there was never anybody who came and
said: 'This is what gambling can do to you... this is the depths
that gambling can bring you to'," he says.
"That might have helped me in terms of educating me about the
perils of gambling."
Today more young people are gambling than ever before.
And they are doing so in more or less total ignorance about the
perils that befell Ryan and could just as easily affect them.
According to the National Council on Problem Gambling, those between
the ages of 18 and 24 are showing the highest rates of gambling
addictions.
The lack of awareness among parents, schools and colleges about
gambling's hidden dangers is contributing to youth gambling
addiction becoming a real social problem in America.
