The government’s proposal to overhaul and tighten betting laws, ostensibly to target problem gamblers, has understandably raised concerns about government interference and nanny-state overreach. Yet viewed from a wider perspective, we should welcome these initiatives and for the precedent they could set: they could be the final recognition that young adults do not reach maturity until the age of 25.
As part of its gambling curbs the government will place ‘enhanced’ checks on the finances of under-25s, amid concerns that they’re less able to ‘regulate’ their impulses and make rational decisions. For example, the under-25s will have stakes limited to a maximum of between £2 and £4 for online slot machines.
Ministers believe that young men between and 18 and 24 are especially at risk and are less able to manage their money, are more prone to social pressure and more inclined to take ‘riskier’ behaviour. They conclude that under-25s in general ‘may still be developing capacity to regulate impulses and make rational decisions.’
Such measures reflect much that is already understood and accepted among sociologists, neuroscientists and car insurance companies.
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