How to tell if a child’s a gambling addict

TO uncover the scale of compulsive gambling among children the experts used an internationallyrecognised test.

It poses nine questions to isolate types of addictive behaviour, including losing control.

A child showing four or more of the different behaviours was considered to be a problem gambler.

Two or three behaviours saw them identified as at risk of problem gambling. A lower score showed they were not in danger.

The nine questions were: In the past 12 months: ÷ How often have you found yourself thinking about gambling or planning to gamble? (2.3 per cent in the survey said they had) ÷ How often have you gambled to help you escape from problems or when you were feeling bad? (2.1 per cent) ÷ Have you felt bad or fed up when trying to cut down on gambling? (1.8 per cent) ÷ Have you needed to gamble with more and more money to get the amount of excitement you want? (2 per cent) ÷ Have you ever spent much more than you planned to spend on gambling? (1.2 per cent) ÷ Have you ever taken money without permission to spend on gambling? (3.9 per cent) ÷ Has your gambling ever led to arguments with family or friends, or you missing school? (2.7 per cent) ÷ Have you ever told lies because of gambling? (2. per cent) ÷ After losing money by gambling, have you returned another day to try to win back the money you lost? (1.9 per cent)