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NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Online gambling-affecting the youth

Sport
Online gambling is getting popular every day at a very high speed. The users are increasing daily and are now estimated to have a net worth of more than US$30 billion.

Online gambling is getting popular every day at a very high speed. The users are increasing daily and are now estimated to have a net worth of more than US$30 billion. These online gambling sites are legalized by the government, also making them even more aggressive. The peak of this industry is yet to arrive as the growth opportunities for Online Gambling are way too high.

The problem arises when the games are being played continuously, and people get addicted to them. There are no proper rules for these sites to follow, resulting in letting teenagers play these games. These highly addictive games can even lead to some horrifying consequences. Even if you need money to play these games, the sites are playing a filthy game here by giving the money to new customers just to start gambling. There are several ways to do it, like sign-up bonuses, promotional bonuses, online free spins, and much more. These sites first give money to the players and let them play for time until they get addicted and bring more money into the game to continue playing. 

Reasons for youth to easily get affected.
  1. Fancy advertisings: since these sites are legalized in many countries now, they put a hefty amount of money in the advertisement department, lure teens to visit their sites, and start gambling. These fancy ads are actually full of lies and false hopes.
  2. The hope of fast money. The youth have a lot of energy and time, but they lack money. These gambling sites look like they will make you a millionaire in one night, but when the reality is not even close. The thrill and money attached to these games never allow teens to stop it.
  3. Wrong company: When teens hang around with wrong people, and those people present these games as a lifetime opportunity or a way to look cool. Or the parents or someone else in the house plays these games in front of children and even lets them play, lays a harmful impact.
  4. Easy access: These games are easily accessible because of the internet revolution in the world where everything is at your fingertips these days. Even an 11-year-old can access such sites and gamble even when he might not know the actual meaning of the word.
  5. Exciting offers: As the youth lack money, these sites provide exciting offers like bonuses, online free spins, and much more. It allows the teens to start with no money and let them win small amounts easily to get them addicted.
Wrapping Up

When the government and these gambling sites are not doing anything to prevent youth from being on these sites, the parents must check on their children. As the market of online gambling is increasing, teens are getting affected the most. The teens are taking the wrong paths in their lives, and it is becoming a dangerous situation. Proper education about these things should be given to the youth to stop them. The corrective measures are to be taken really soon. Otherwise, it will be too late, and many lives will get destroyed because of online gambling.