With basketball betting, complacence on youth harms would be a costly mistake
Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at
letters@scmp.com or filling in
this Google form . Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification
The Hong Kong government's proposal to
legalise basketball betting has reignited debate. While proponents argue that legalisation will curb illegal gambling and generate revenue, there is a troubling complacency regarding the harms of youth gambling.
Officials point to
low reported cases of youth problem gambling as evidence that the issue is under control. This reasoning warrants closer examination. Low case numbers do not equal low harm; they may reflect systemic failures in detection, support and societal awareness.
Research shows young people are among the least likely to seek help for problem gambling. A 2021-22 study by the University of Hong Kong found that 33 per cent of respondents aged 14-17 were aware of the problem gambling hotline, compared to 40 per cent among those aged 22-39. Among all 2,006 respondents, only 50.1 per cent were aware of counselling and treatment services, which only 0.4 per cent – four persons – had used.
Many young gamblers don't recognise their behaviour as problematic, often confident that they can stop anytime. This false sense of control is exacerbated by the social nature of sports betting.
The consequences of untreated youth problem gambling extend beyond mere statistics. Academic performance declines, job stability falters and developmental milestones – forming healthy relationships, achieving financial independence – are disrupted. Family dynamics also suffer; parents who discover their children's gambling habits often make confrontational interventions, leading to domestic conflict or even violence.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
8 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hongkongers warned not to download mobile game ‘promoting secessionist agenda'
Hong Kong police have warned residents against downloading a mobile game application advocating Hong Kong and Taiwanese independence or risk breaking national security laws. The force also said on Tuesday that action had been taken under the Beijing-imposed national security law to allow police to require the relevant electronic platforms to remove access to the game Reversed Front: Bonfire, which was developed by ESC Taiwan and released in April. Individuals who downloaded the app could be considered in possession of a seditious publication, contravening domestic security legislation, the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance, police said. It added that those who provided money or financial assistance to the game's developer, including making in-app purchases, with the intent to fund it acts of secession or subversion of state power, also risk committing an offence under the national security law. 'Reversed Front: Bonfire was released under the guise of a game with the aim of promoting secessionist agendas such as 'Taiwan independence' and 'Hong Kong independence', advocating armed revolution and the overthrow of the fundamental system of the People's Republic of China [PRC] established by the constitution of the People's Republic of China,' national security police said. 'It also has an intention to provoke hatred towards the central authorities and the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.' Police added that anyone or any organisation that knowingly published the application, including sharing or recommending it online, would also risk contravening offences of inciting secession and subversion under the national security law, as well as seditious intention offences in the Safeguarding National Security Ordinance.
South China Morning Post
9 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong court convicts couple of child cruelty, murdering newborn son
A Hong Kong court has convicted a couple of murdering their newborn son after rejecting their assertions that the infant's head trauma and rib fractures could have been inflicted by his brother out of jealousy. A High Court jury comprising three men and four women returned a unanimous verdict on Tuesday to convict Imran Hossain, 32, and his wife Farzana Akter, 29, of murdering their seven-week-old baby, Iyman Hossain, in 2019. The unemployed couple was also found guilty of child cruelty for breaching their duty of care to the deceased. The trial heard the boy died in hospital six days after he became unresponsive and displayed abnormal eye movement in the family's subdivided flat in Sham Shui Po on August 24, 2019. Prosecutors said the defendants, both Hong Kong residents, failed to call emergency services that morning and only took the baby to hospital at least 90 minutes after he lost consciousness. The court heard the deceased was growing healthily in his last medical check-up at a clinic on August 8, 2019, but stopped gaining weight and displayed poor growth before he was admitted to hospital. An initial medical examination diagnosed Iyman with multiple thigh and rib fractures, with the child's right first rib found broken to a level of severity typically seen in a car crash or a fall from a great height. He was also found with bruises on his cheeks and forehead, scratches over a nostril and bloodstains on his nasal bridge.
South China Morning Post
14 hours ago
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong warns residents about Los Angeles unrest as Trump deploys National Guard
Hong Kong authorities have urged residents to remain vigilant and prioritise safety when travelling to the United States due to ongoing immigration-related protests in Los Angeles. Some Hongkongers living in California's largest city criticised US President Donald Trump's decision to deploy the National Guard, stating that it would likely escalate the situation further. The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement's operation against illegal immigrants in Los Angeles on Friday triggered days of demonstrations by local residents, leading to clashes with law enforcement officers. Trump, who has made illegal immigration a prime focus of his presidency, ordered some 2,000 National Guard to Los Angeles during the weekend over the objections of Newsom and the city's mayor, Karen Bass, who have accused him of manufacturing a crisis. Late Monday, the US Pentagon ordered 700 members of the US Marine Corps to Los Angeles and an additional 2,000 National Guard members to quell the unrest. The extra contingent doubles the number of National Guard troops to more than 4,000. The Hong Kong government urged residents to attend to personal safety in light of protests across the country. 'The government reminds Hong Kong residents who are planning to travel to the United States, or are already there, to stay aware of the local situation, increase their vigilance, prioritise their safety, avoid crowded areas, and pay close attention to local announcements regarding the latest developments,' a spokesman said on Monday. 'Hesitant' Hongkongers worry Trump has shattered dreams of studying in US The Security Bureau's website was updated with the warning, saying protests had 'occurred across multiple cities including Los Angeles' since early June, resulting in 'violent clashes and injuries'. The government also reminded Hong Kong residents in the United States who required help to call a 24-hour hotline at (852) 1868, or reach out to the Immigration Department with its mobile app, among other means. Some Angeles-based Hongkongers defended the need for the protests. A 50-year-old university professor, who only gave his surname, Lam, said the scale of the social unrest was not even close to the Black Lives Matter movement of 2020 or the Rodney King protests of 1992, sparked by a court acquitting four police officers accused of beating an unarmed black man. 'The protests are very localised,' Lam said. 'A little fire with one or two [self-driving] Waymo cars set on fire.' Lam said protesters were expressing their anger at what Trump and the immigration authorities were doing. 'Many of them live with undocumented immigrants and have done so for years. They stand by them with compassion because they want to protect their neighbours and friends who have lived peacefully in the community for years,' he said. Protesters gather with signs and flags near a federal building in Santa Ana, California, following reports of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids on June 9, 2025. Photo: AFP Lam said he and some of his US-born colleagues had started to bring along their identity documents to avoid being mistakenly arrested. 'Even for us, because we do not look like a regular 'white person', we have started to carry a federal ID on top of our driving licence to show that we're actually citizens,' he said. 'There have been a lot of mistaken arrests; we just want to be safe.' A 29-year-old college lecturer from Hong Kong, surnamed Li, joined the protests as well as the rapid response networks to help defend immigrant workers against raids. 'While the mainstream media is demonising the protesters as 'violent rioters' defending 'criminals', what I saw instead were local community members looking to defend their families, friends and other communities from state violence,' Li said. He said he had seen rubber bullets and tear gas being fired amid the clashes. 'I do not feel safe with the federal government overriding state authority to deploy the National Guard in Los Angeles, which further exacerbates the state-sanctioned violence that is already heightening,' he said. Law, a 52-year-old Hongkonger who has lived in Los Angeles since 1991, expressed reservations about the deployment of the National Guard. 'I think it's borderline unconstitutional,' said Law, who works in marketing and lives in Santa Monica. 'The only consequence I can see with the arrival of the National Guard is that there may be an escalation, which is the opposite of the intention.'
