Accessibility of online betting acts as a magnet to minors

Although there are few studies that quantify the number of under-age users accessing online betting, a study carried out by the University of Valencia and the Codere Foundation reveals that 20% of teenagers now admit to having played prior to turning 18. In some cases they are accessing gambling sites that do not possess any form of control and, in others, they use the ID card (DNI) of an adult third party in order to register.

In this context, the Spanish Federation of Rehabilitated Gamblers (FEJAR) has appealed to betting companies, both physical and online, to introduce stringent controls to prevent minors from being able to participate in this type of activity.

"It is important for parents to have control over their children's Internet activity and to be able to make them aware of the risks that can arise from gambling", points out psychologist and UOC professor José Ramón Ubieto. Minors having easy access to bookmakers' apps increases the number of players, he warns, adding that the problem lies not only in the fact that minors are gambling online but also that they neither control nor detect the effects of this type of activity in the short term or in the long term.

According to the Ubieto, increased ICT options are leading to a rise in the number of players involved in betting. The Directorate-General for the Regulation of Gambling (DGOJ) talks of a 72.44% increase in the number of live sports betting participants in the last quarter of 2015 compared to the same period of the previous year.

Ubieto cites factors such as the financial crisis and the anonymity offered by the Internet as having contributed to this rise in online gambling. "The fact that one instantly knows the result of any type of bet increases the levels of addiction to such games and, indirectly, the risks the habit may present in the long term", he adds.


Winnings count as taxable income

Most young people are unaware of the tax regulations governing any winnings earned through this type of betting. Fiscal procedure expert and professor at the UOC's Faculty of Law and Political Science, Irene Rovira, explains that players "are obliged" to declare any profits earned over €1,000 per year and any losses of less than €500, even if they do not have any other type of income. "That does not necessarily mean that they have to pay anything, but they are obliged to submit a tax return", she underlines.

Rovira stresses that being ignorant of the law does not exempt individuals from compliance. "Any player failing to lodge a return stands to face a penalty imposed by the tax authorities", she concludes.