Is a new school subject “Dangers of Gambling” useful?

Very soon students in the US Federal State Maryland could be having an extra school subject. Actually it is still being discussed, whether a new subject “Dangers of Gambling” should be introduced. Here the young people should be made aware of the risks of gambling and therefore learn a responsible approach to this issue.

It is a well-known fact that especially young people are at a risk for a possible gambling addiction. A new school subject should be introduced so that children and youths learn quite early and in time which risks are associated with gambling. This is being reported by CNS Maryland.

Getting to know about the dangers of gambling at school?

The idea is, that young boys and girls are already taught in High Schools which dangers are associated with participation in gambling activities. And that the danger of gambling addiction is always ubiquitous, if one does not learn how to behave responsibly. Therefore a new subject which tackles the dangers of gambling will be included in the curriculum in the US Federal State of Maryland. A few days ago the responsible Senator Bryan Simonaire has presented a draft bill, to pave the way for this new school subject. 

The individual US-Areas should be able to develop concepts independently to be able to achieve the defined outcome. It is possible, that the topic will be added to the existing curriculum, or even that a completely new curriculum is developed. Till now, it is still not clear, to what extent the subject will be integrated in the weekly plan of the students. 

Gambling addiction: Young people are especially in danger

The question, why specifically young people should be targeted and informed about the risks, is easily answered. Many studies proof, that young people at the age of 18 to 34 become addicted to gambling quite often. Other risk factors which make a person at risk to a gambling addiction are, for example, a migration background and a low income. Besides this, men are often more affected by problematic gambling behaviour than women.

It was further depicted that experience has shown that the risk for a gambling addiction becomes higher, when those affected start gambling at a young age. If instead, one can manage to increase awareness among children and youths about the relevant dangers, this could prevent them from developing a problematic gambling behaviour further on in life. 

The US-Senator Simonaire had already presented a draft bill last year. Because of the worldwide crisis situation, this law was however not passed. Now the Senator is trying for the second time to implement his prevention idea.

More prevention prevents gambling addiction

The Senator from Maryland sees prevention as an effective way to fight gambling, before it has even started. Of course the therapy for those already addicted to gambling is important and should continue to be carried out professionally. If however one succeeds to impact the young people at an early age, one could reduce the number of future gambling addicts. In spite of this, Simonaire does not turn a blind eye to the fact, that the state makes high profits from gambling, to sacrifice other priorities in the country. 

Lesson idea receives criticism

Not all politicians agree with the idea of Simonaire. The senators Cheryl Kagan und Paul Pinsky are of the idea, that one should not interfere in the curriculum design. Here there are the responsible education authorities. After both senators had expressed their criticism last year in this regard, one can assume, that they will not vote in favour of the draft bill this year.

Even the school authorities are partly not happy with the suggestion. They pointed out, that one cannot teach all imaginable subjects at school. Finally, there is a series of themes which are clearly more important than explaining the dangers of gambling to young people. Among these in a country like America, one can name healthy eating and the topic abuse.

Conclusion

Should the draft bill be accepted by the majority, the students could be taught the subject “Dangers of Gambling” as early as scholastic year 2022/2023. Although the idea of such a school subject definitely makes sense, there is still the question, whether as argued by the school authorities, there are actually more important topics. It is finally not possible to teach all topics one can think of. The legal guardians are especially responsible for teaching their children about the “dangers of life“ and make them aware for example about the risks of gambling.

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