Six in ten Dutch young people considering gambling on sports matches this summer
Six in ten young adults in the Netherlands expect to gamble on sports matches this summer. Many plan to bet on the European Football Championship, which started in Germany on Friday, NOS reports based on a representative study commissioned by Loket Kansspel, the government support center for people with gambling problems.
Research agency Ruigrok interviewed some 975 young adults aged 18 to 24 years. 30 percent said that they would likely gamble on sports matches in the coming months, and 32 percent said they might. These young gamblers are mainly men.
Previous research by the Gambling Authority showed that young adults gamble the most online of all age groups, and they relatively often opt for sports betting. They bet lower amounts than older players, likely because they have less to spend. But young gamblers still lose an average of over 600 euros per year.
Virtually all participants in the Ruigrok study are aware that gambling on sports matches can have a negative outcome. 44 percent of active players have bet more than they could afford in the past. 78 percent of active gamblers said believe they can increase their chances of winning by studying the sport they are betting on.
“This is one of the biggest pitfalls of gambling in general and betting on sports matches in particular,” Tony van Rooij, an expert of the Trimbos Institute, which was involved in the design of the study, told NOS. “Sports results cannot be predicted based on knowledge and skill. It remains a matter of luck and chance. Very risky because long-term and persistent gambling can lead to major problems for yourself and others.”
According to Van Rooij, online gambling has become “normalized” among young people since its legalization in the Netherlands in October 2021, and that is very concerning. “You previously saw this in studies by, among others, the Mulier Institute, how many young members of sports clubs find [gambling] completely part of it. Gambling advertisements, which are still allowed on the internet, contribute to this.”
Loket Kansspel launched a campaign aimed at young adults last week. The “Don’t play games with your money” campaign mostly points out the pitfalls of online gambling.
