9. Children, Technology and Gambling

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1 9. Children, Technology and Gambling

2 This document is part of a series of Building a Stronger South Australia policy initiatives from the Government of South Australia. 1. Future Fund 2. Jobs and Skills 3. Public Transport 4. Safer Communities. Safer Policing. 5. Transport 6. Housing in the City 7. Premium Food and Wine 8. Healthy and Strong Children 9. Children, Technology and Gambling For more information visit:

3 FUTURE CHILDREN, TECHNOLOGY FUND AND GAMBLING 9

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5 Message from Jay As parents, we keep an eye on the words and images our children take in. We know what a powerful influence television, music, social media and friends can be on young minds. Some of these influences have a lasting effect. That s why I became concerned earlier this year about the onslaught of gambling-like games that are readily available online and through social media and asked an expert group to look at the issue. The government has taken strong action to keep children cyber safe. Police now patrol the Internet just as they patrol our streets and schools teach children how to keep themselves safe online. We have also banished live odds betting ads from our TV screens. Yet, new risks continue to emerge. Our kids are more savvy than ever before at using technology and, as parents, we need to be alert to the effects on children s behaviour and development at a time when most of their brain development is occurring. It s a different world from the one we grew up in where our parents kept an eye on us in the world they could see. The virtual world, accessible through the technology many of us use in our everyday lives, is harder to monitor. We can all recount the times our children or grandchildren have asked for our phone or electronic tablet to be able to play games. While many of these are harmless, there are some that mimic gambling with the same sights and sounds as you would expect to find in a pokie parlour or casino. We don t let children into pokie rooms or casinos, so why would we allow our young children unfettered access to similar games online? Child development and gambling experts are worried that early exposure could lead to problem gambling habits in adulthood. Research supports this concern. I will not stand by and watch a generation of children become gambling addicts. We don t want to stop children from having fun. We also don t want to ban these games or stop adults from enjoying them, but we do want parents, teachers and others who care for children to have the information they need to make informed choices about what children access and play. Over the past few months, I have talked to many people about these concerns and what steps we should take to deal with the risks. This policy is the result of those discussions and the work of our expert panel. South Australia will be the first in the nation to act on this emerging problem. This is something we must address together as a community through legislation, education and raising public awareness. We must also encourage the industry to improve its practices to support us. Importantly, we will ask those who are closest to our children parents, carers, teachers and others to work with us to monitor and deal with this issue together. Jay Weatherill Premier of South Australia Building a Stronger South Australia 1

6 Our vision For children to be able to experience the educational benefits, fun and social interaction of the online world while keeping safe from harm. Why are we doing this? Use of technology is increasing. While the cyber world can bring many benefits, there are also increased risks associated with this cultural shift, particularly for young people. Alongside the rapid growth in handheld Internet-enabled devices, such as smart phones, electronic tablets and video console games that link to the Internet, there has been an explosion in downloadable games. Many of these can be downloaded by anyone of any age, yet some would be considered by many people to be inappropriate or harmful for children. Some of these seemingly innocent games simulate gambling. They are specifically designed for children and are available to them. A recent Federal Government report noted that, increasingly, casino-style and gambling-like games are being made available through social media and for download on mobile phones and video game consoles. The report notes their popularity and accessibility by children, including children under the age of 13. Examples include simulated poker, blackjack and other simulated games of skill and chance such as online slot machines. Evidence is increasing that early exposure to these types of games might pre-dispose a child to gambling problems later in life. Research also indicates these games may encourage children to think that gambling is a normal part of everyday life, rather than an occasional entertainment activity, and could lead to misconceptions about the ease of winning when gambling because of the inflated odds on some games. The State Government wants to give parents and others who supervise children the tools and power to make informed choices about the types of games children are playing. Building a Stronger South Australia 2

7 What does this mean for you? Children and their parents will be better informed about the online games they are playing. Children will be less able to access digital games that simulate gambling. Parents, teachers and others will play an important role in protecting children by reporting problematic games. People can learn more about this issue at the new Gambling is No Game website What are we doing? The State Government will introduce a number of new actions to reduce the exposure of young South Australians to gambling-like games. The following actions will be taken: 1. South Australia will introduce new laws that will allow classifications, such as MA15+, to be applied to games that contain simulated gambling. 2. An online Watch List of popular apps and online games that contain gambling simulation will be created to inform parents about games of concern. 3. An Unleashed competition will be held for the local technology industry to develop a tool that gives parents advice about minimising simulated gambling risks. 4. South Australia will push for a national approach to the classification of games that include simulated gambling. 5. A public awareness campaign will be launched to give parents, children and people who work with children the information they need to make informed decisions about children s access to simulated gambling games. Building a Stronger South Australia 3

8 What have we done so far? The safety of children is something the State Government takes very seriously. Action has been taken on a number of fronts to help keep children cyber safe. A child protection curriculum called Keeping Safe, developed in South Australia and adopted by other States and school sectors, teaches responsible use of technology to address cyber bullying. There are topics related to Internet safety with scenarios on the use of mobile phones and social networking messages and photographs. Schools also have guidelines and local policies to help students and their parents to guard against online predators, protect themselves from cyber bullying and to manage social media. In recent years, the State Government has conducted a number of initiatives, including a Student Cyber Safety Summit and a Cyber Safety Conference for schools, and has provided grants to support cyber safety projects in schools. Tougher laws have been introduced, including a new offence to tackle online bullying and the distribution of humiliating images. It is now an offence to film someone who is being subjected to a humiliating or degrading act, and it s a separate offence to distribute such film over the Internet. A 2013 survey found that 95 per cent of eight to 11 year-olds and 100 per cent of 16 and 17 year-olds accessed the Internet in the four weeks before they were surveyed. Building a Stronger South Australia 4

9 The government has also made it an offence to use online communications to encourage a child to commit an indecent act, or to make that child amendable to committing an indecent act. Reporting requirements have changed so a child sex offender must tell police if they communicate with a child online. Funding was announced in the State Budget for SA Police to form a dedicated team to deal with Internet child exploitation. The team of trained officers will pose as potential victims to find and arrest criminals before they can commit crimes against children. Detailed forensic analysis of Internet activity will allow rapid identification of previously unknown offenders and the addition of a specialised team to gather evidence will ensure more convictions. In relation to young people and gambling, the Office for Problem Gambling seeks to reach young people, as well as the broader community, through their help services and promotional activities. The State Government has identified young people and gambling as a social problem to be tackled as part of its youth grant funding. As a result, programs are now underway to address gambling issues among young people from multicultural communities and to develop a Keep it Fun app, created by young people for young people to understand the risks of excessive gaming and gambling. These actions follow the government s ban on the promotion of live odds betting during sporting matches. Despite these strong actions, the use of technology continues to evolve and the State Government is working alongside experts to make sure that any risks are addressed before they cause problems. Children are considered more vulnerable to being influenced by these types of games than adults because of peer pressure, attraction to risk-taking and limited life experiences. Building a Stronger South Australia 5

10 What are the challenges and the way forward? Simulated gambling refers to gambling-like activity that does not involve the chance of winning money, but is otherwise identical to gambling. Because money cannot be won, simulated gambling games are not regulated as legal gambling services and do not meet the definition of interactive online casino-style gambling which is illegal in Australia. Many of these games are free to access and are presented in ways that attract children. Despite being free, many include in-game purchases that provide extra features. This is of particular concern to many parents who are left to pick up the costs. Some games are wholly simulated gambling activity while others include simulated gambling elements or link to simulated gambling websites which generate rewards for use in the primary game. These include cartoon slot machines, casino-style poker and scratchy cards. There are no mandated classifications in place for games that contain simulated gambling content. Parents have to rely on internet filtering software and age restrictions recommended by providers such as the Apple App store or Facebook. Some providers do not recommend age restrictions and, those that do, generally still allow 12 year-olds to play casino-style games. A fouryear-old can play online games with gambling-like properties, such as images and sounds that resemble poker machines. The National Classification Code and Guidelines do not refer to simulated gambling as a factor that requires games to be age-restricted. A study of 1300 young South Australians aged 12 to 17 found 13 per cent reported involvement in simulated gambling in the previous 12 months and 32 per cent reported simulated gambling at least once. Building a Stronger South Australia 6

11 The risks posed by simulated gambling games include: the opportunity to practise gambling behaviours, potentially normalising gambling as a part of everyday life the higher odds of winning, leading children to believe it is easy to win in real-life gambling or that they are skilled at gambling the blurring of the lines between gambling (outcome determined by chance) and traditional video gaming (outcome determined by player strategy/skill). Earlier this year, an expert panel of South Australian government officials, non-government organisations and academics who work in this field was appointed to look at children s exposure to gambling and gambling-like behaviours through technology. While current research has not demonstrated that engaging in simulated gambling causes someone to be a problem gambler, experts have identified there is evidence of a correlation between exposure of at-risk children to simulated gambling and development of problem gambling. Young people who become problem gamblers also tend to be at risk in other areas. International studies have identified a link between adolescent gambling and other risk-taking activities, with broader problems in development and school performance. The expert panel concluded there is enough evidence to support concerns about the potential risks to children s healthy development and that action should be taken to address the issue. Thirty-five per cent of 10 and 11 year-olds have their own mobile phone. Building a Stronger South Australia 7

12 How will this policy work? Children and Gambling Watch List Parents will be able to easily see which games and apps children should avoid because of their simulated gambling content on an Australian-first online Watch List. The Watch List will be part of a new State Government-supported website, to be developed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media, that will publish reviews and the age appropriateness of up to 400 popular apps from early next year. Qualified child development professionals will determine which classified and unclassified apps and games are featured on the Watch List based on their content. Through an online forum, parents and interested community members will be able to submit their own reviews and suggest which apps should be reviewed for addition to the Watch List. Watch List monitors and parents will also be able to refer apps of concern to the South Australian Classification Council for classification. Classification of games A Bill to amend the Classification (Publications, Films and Computers Games) Act 1995 will be introduced into State Parliament. Through this Bill, the South Australian Classification Council will be required to assess simulated gambling content when it classifies games. The riskiest simulated gambling games will be able to be classified as MA15+, or even R18+. It will be an offence to provide or advertise games with these ratings without a system that restricts access by people below the relevant age. The new classification laws will be promoted and put into operation through a self-regulatory model. Self-regulation will involve using the new laws to set a clear community standard about the type of content considered appropriate for children so game providers and developers: can choose to limit simulated gambling in their games in line with the standards restrict access to more risky simulated gambling games based on age provide consumer advice that warns of simulated gambling content in games. Those who do not self-regulate will risk having their games called in for classification, enabling enforcement action to be instigated. This approach is designed to encourage the industry to more responsibly apply age restrictions on games where evidence shows a risk to children and to better reflect the community s expectations. Building a Stronger South Australia 8

13 National discussion Ideally, this issue should be addressed nationally, but the State Government will start in South Australia in a similar approach to South Australia s ban on live odds betting advertisements. The State Government s actions will position South Australia as a leader in addressing the risks to children through simulated gambling and provide a platform to lead public debate at the national level. South Australia will pursue national agreement to explicitly include simulated gambling in the national classification regime. National action would have the greatest effect because of greater incentives for industry to comply and greater enforcement capacity. New Unleashed Challenge Local technology companies and digital entrepreneurs will be challenged to develop a resource to help parents minimise their children s exposure to simulated gambling risks. A challenge will be modelled on the successful Unleashed open data initiative that demonstrated the talent and innovation of South Australia s digital community. Web and app developers and entrepreneurs will collaborate to create new and better ways of using technology to support parents to minimise risks for their children. Public awareness campaign A public awareness campaign was recommended in feedback from community members and others about children, technology and gambling. Because this is an emerging problem, many parents and people who work with children are not yet aware of the risks. Similarly, the research has not been widely or effectively communicated beyond concerned academics and experts. A community awareness campaign will be run to build understanding of the issues and risks so people can make informed decisions about children s access to online games, particularly those that simulate gambling. A 2011 report by Gambling Research Australia found 3.6 per cent of 10 to 14 yearolds were classified as problem gamblers, with a further 8.2 per cent classified as at risk. Building a Stronger South Australia 9

14 How does this fit with the State Government s priorities? The State Government has identified seven strategic priorities to build a strong future for South Australia. This policy supports two of these priorities: Safe communities, healthy neighbourhoods by developing children s ability to act safely and responsibly and protect themselves in their online worlds. Every chance for every child by limiting children s exposure to simulated gambling to help protect them from the risk of gambling problems later in life. Building a Stronger South Australia 10

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