Gambling among underage children has risen to an alarming level in recent times, according to the preliminary report of a survey conducted by iGame.

The survey found that one in every three seventh-grade children has experimented with gambling while just shy of a fifth of the respondents said they gamble sometimes.

The survey also revealed that nearly one-fifth of the responds are drifting towards problem gambling.

Already three per cent of the underage gamblers are facing the risk of habit forming. This however does not mean that young people have gambling addiction, according to Tapio Jaakkola, development coordinator at a clinic that offers treatment for gambling-related problems.

A child drops money in Slot Machine in Kamppi, Helsinki. Photo – Lehtikuva.

The phenomenon, according to Jaakola, is rather a case of excessive gambling. Jaakola however warns that early gambling together with regular gambling exposes one to addiction.

The risks of gambling among underage children are significantly higher than among adults.

Binge drinking, smoking and poor performance in school are among the connected problems experienced by the respondents.

Gambling in the country is prohibited for children under the age of 18. Despite the ban, underage children, especially boys, do gamble.

Age-limit monitoring is sometimes a challenge, especially with gambling machines, according to Jukka Keski-Pukkila, managing director of Contral Clinics, which specialises in dependence disorders.

“Gambling machines have shortcomings when they are outsourced to employees working at stores,” said Keski-Pukkila,

He said there is a wide-ranging availability of gambling machines in the country and estimated the number of such machines at 20,000.

The most popular forms of gambling are traditional card games and the slot machines. The third most popular form of gambling is via the internet.

The survey interviewed 988 students from 11 different schools last autumn. The full survey report will be published in the autumn.