[a binary column] 12-year-old bill of 2 trillion won brought by illegal click

*This content was translated by AI.

When May comes, the streets are filled with flowers, and children's laughter becomes clearer under the name of "Family Month."

This season, which leads to Children's Day, Parents' Day, and Teachers' Day, is the warmest time to reveal how much we value future generations. But this May, there is one more time we must remember. May 11-17 is Youth Gambling Problem Prevention Week. Were we aware of this. If you knew, what did we do. In the meantime, children are sitting in front of a gambling board on smartphone screens.

"At first, I thought it was just a game."

This is the words of a middle school student I met at the counseling site. A few clicks and a few wins start like a play, but at some point it becomes an unstoppable 'pan'. The child loses money, loses friends, and eventually loses himself. This is not a problem for one child. It is the result of the environment we have allowed.

The average age of adolescents who first encounter gambling is 12.5 years old. 6th grade in elementary school or 1st grade in middle school. The entrance to gambling is already in the hands of the children. YouTube ads, SNS feeds, and just one link from a friend is enough. Many adults still regard gambling as a 'adult matter'. However, the illegal gambling market, which is estimated to be worth about 100 trillion won, has already permeated deeply into the daily lives of teenagers.

In a situation where the legal gambling industry is limited to those aged 19 or older, virtually all gambling encountered by adolescents is illegal. Illegal online casinos and sports betting are open 24 hours a day, and age verification stays in form.

The figures alone cannot explain the reality. The youth gambling experience rate is only 4.0%, but 36.0% of middle school students and 52.6% of high school students experienced online casino games. Gambling has already spread to 'experience' before 'action'. The reason why children dabble in gambling is simple. "I thought it would be fun" and "I'm going to be with my friend" these ordinary answers reveal one uncomfortable truth. It is the fact that gambling is no longer a risk, but is recognized as 'play'.

This change is no accident. Today's digital environment is designed with probability and reward. In a structure that stimulates probabilistic items, repetitive rewards, competition and sharing, children already learn the 'grammar of gambling'. So gambling comes not as an unfamiliar temptation, but as a familiar extension. Fifty-four percent of teenagers were exposed to illegal gambling advertisements. However, the reporting rate is only 3.3 percent. Most go too far, or click. It may seem like a choice, but in reality, it's a designed result.

The price is ultimately paid by society as a whole. The socioeconomic cost of youth gambling is 2.1739 trillion won. This number is not just an amount. It's the sum of broken time and relationship, trust and possibility. A child's today, a family's tomorrow, and the future of society shake in it at the same time. This bill has already been issued, and it is still piling up more every day.

So I ask again. Is your child, grandchild and nephew safe today. This question should not remain a recognition. It should lead to the responsibility of 'what to do now'. A society where a 12-year-old child accesses illegal online casinos on his or her smartphone. If this is a child's problem, we have put the blame too easily. This crisis is not explained only by individual will or family efforts. This is the structural result of the design of the digital environment, the spread of illegal platforms, and the delay in response.

If we don't intervene now, this cost won't stay at 2 trillion won. The price comes back to the lives of the next generation. Children soon become our colleagues, families, and supportive members of society. This crisis is not the future, it has already begun.

The children did not choose to gamble. We have allowed an environment in which that choice is available. It's time to stop. And we have to change it. Next click, let us stop.

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*This content was translated by AI.