Siak, August 23, 2024. The Functional Position Group of Lecturers of the International Relations Department held counseling related to the dangers of Online Gambling among teenagers. This activity was attended by parents and a number of teenagers in Banjar Seminai Village, Siak.
“Online gambling transactions in Indonesia at the beginning of 2024 have reached 100 trillion, and online gambling players with the category of children reached 80,000 people,” said the Head of the KJFD of the International Relations Department of the Diplomacy and Security concentration of Riau University Dr. Mohammad Saeri, M. Hum, in Siak.
He explained that the cause of the high number of online gambling game users among children is the ease of accessing technology. This ease of technology causes many people to access things that are not useful and not useful for themselves.
In addition, he continued, the high level of online gambling promotions on all social media is also one of the reasons online gambling games are increasingly widespread.
“These promotions make many people and even children curious and then try to register and start using online gambling games,” he said.
Not only that, he said, the small bet value and then the large and multiple wins are also one of the causes of teenagers and other people interested in trying to register and use online gambling games.
“The friendship factor can also be one of the causes of online gambling, this is because it is triggered by someone who knows online gambling which then influences the surrounding environment to also play,” he explained.
He said that the impact of this online gambling game, among others, can be addiction, disruption of mental health, family disharmony, and can even trigger criminal acts.
“Islam strictly prohibits all forms of gambling, including online gambling, from a legal perspective online gambling is also a prohibited act in Article 27 paragraph (2) of Law 1/2024,” he explained.
He hopes that parents can better supervise their children so that they are not influenced by online gambling games, and to teenagers he said to fill activities with good and useful things for their future.