Telecom Policy Report: Teen Gambling May Ignite 'Net Regulation Debate

Some disturbing data, now leaking out of a research project underway at McGill University Research Centre in Ontario, Canada, is raising serious concerns among U.S. and Canadian officials about the growing problem of online gambling among adolescents.

Sources on Capitol Hill tell TPR that the McGill research mirrors similar findings by U.S.-based investigators showing that nearly a third of all American teenagers who have at-home access to the Internet have engaged in online gambling at one time or another. About 30 percent of those teens are deemed to be "habitual" online gamblers, inasmuch as they are continuing to place online bets, according to sources familiar with the research data.

The McGill findings, due to emerge later this year, are expected to spark a heated debate that could lead to renewed and intensified efforts to regulate the Internet, sources say. Ultimately, the Federal Trade Commission could be charged with prosecuting online gambling operations that fail to adequately determine the age and legal status of patrons.