Protection and Support
Advice on how to protect minors and useful support agencies.
Protecting Minors
US legislation is varied state to state and, in many cases, still being formed. In the UK, Bookmakers and casino operators are required by law to prevent children from gambling under the Gambling Act 2014.
Most betting shops and other brick and mortar gambling establishments run a Think 21 policy, which demands photographic ID from any customers that look younger than 21.
It is harder to prevent children from gambling online than in person, but operators take several measures to ensure customers are 18 or older and 21 or over in the USA.
Betting sites will run age verification systems to prevent children from setting up accounts.
Sometimes a search may be undertaken with a third party to verify that they are of a legal age.
These gambling sites are banned from appealing to children, and operators make it clear in their terms and conditions that underage gambling is illegal. However, the system is not foolproof and parents are also encouraged to take steps to ensure the safety of their children:
Measures To Ensure Safety For Your Children
Protect your gambling accounts with password access, and keep your username, password and deposit details out of reach.
Do not save passwords or use any form of auto-fill.
Log out of betting sites when you are finished playing, and keep your mobile devices locked.
Do not leave minors near your devices while a betting site is running.
Limit the amount of time your children spend online and check their activity on a regular basis.
Educate your children about the pitfalls of underage gambling.
There are also a number of third-part parental controls that you can use to monitor or restrict your children’s online activity:
Net Nanny (UK) – this parental control filtering software protects children from adult and inappropriate content while browsing. It allows you to monitor your family’s digital habits, protect them from harmful content, limit screen time and block apps and websites.
Cyber Sitter (UK) - this software has been providing a safe and family-friendly browsing experience since 1995 and bills itself as specialising in peace of mind. It blocks adult oriented sites, forces safe-search on search engines and updates daily.
Cyber Patrol (UK) - this brings Net Nanny and Content Watch together to filter the internet, mask profanity and pornography and manage unwanted content.
Kidlogger (USA) - this allows you to monitor your children’s online activity. This system allows you to block apps, schedule access to games, read SMS and more.
Qustodio (USA) - this provides concerned parents with intelligent tools to help supervise kids online, powerful monitoring tools and parental controls for screen time, adult content and games.
Support and Advice
You can gain valuable help from a number of organisations that provide free and confidential advice for anyone struggling with a gambling problem:
