Maybe my comment came off a little abrasive. I didn’t mean it to be, and I’m sorry if that was the case. It is a little irritating that people invent problems in order to further their own agendas.
Yeah… but the internet is full of idiots that don’t bother to spell, fix typos, etc. It’s not limited to gamblers… it’s everywhere. I usually try not to judge people for that unless they are being critical of others for it. Some of the smartest people I know have trouble spelling their own names.
Online poker players, I will agree, are a notoriously whiny and immature bunch. Being an ass doesn’t seem to tell me one’s age in that area… just tells me that they’re an ass.
I know that there are people younger than X age that gamble. Good, bad… I don’t know. I just don’t think it’s an issue that needs to be called a “problem” and I’m convinced that there aren’t rules or laws that can be applied to every adult in the world that would have an effect on it – even if it were a problem.
I’m also not trying to say that it couldn’t be a problem for a particular person… I’m sure it could be. It’s just not a problem (IMO) from a societal view. If you have a 12 year old kid that takes calculated risks and puts his money at risk by investing in stocks, then people smile and clap. It’s not far off from matching up sports teams, besides the time horizon involved.
That brings me to another point… It’s a shame that anti-gambling people seem to lump everything together. There are big differences between betting on random things like the lottery and slots, compared with things like poker that require skill. Not to mention, betting on your own attibutes is generally accepted and legal around the world. We can run a footrace and bet on it. Probably not a wise choice by me, but there won’t be a bunch of people trying to stop it.