Omaha expert weighs in on keep children away online gambling sites

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Local expert weighs in on how to keep children away from online gambling sites

GAMBLING RECENTLY, AND IT MIGHT BE EASIER TO ACCESS THAN YOU THINK. JOINING US TO TALK ABOUT KEEPING YOUR CHILD OFF THOSE SITES. AMY KANDINSKY WITH THE SMART GEN SOCIETY. AMY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. AMY, CAN YOU TELL US HOW EASY IT IS FOR A CHILD OR TEEN TO ACCESS THESE WEBSITES AND POSSIBLY LOSE A LOT OF MONEY? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. YOU KNOW, ONLINE BETTING IS NOT LEGAL FOR NEBRASKA AT ANY AGE. HOWEVER, IT IS LEGAL IN IOWA FOR OVER 21 AND OVER AND MANY TIMES STUDENTS ARE ABLE TO DOWNLOAD APPS ONTO THEIR PHONE BECAUSE IT IS FOR 17 AND ABOVE AND THEY’RE ABLE TO ACCESS THESE ONLINE BETTING SITES. SO REALLY, EVEN IF IT’S ILLEGAL IN NEBRASKA, ALL THEY HAVE TO DO IS CROSS THE RIVER AND LIE ESSENTIALLY. IT’S AS EASY AS THAT OR EVEN GETTING A VPN AND THEY CAN LOG ON TO IT RIGHT FROM THEIR PHONE. WE ALSO KNOW THAT MANY TIMES WHEN PARENTS HAVE LOGGED ON TO THEIR HOME BROWSER AND THEY’VE DONE AN AGE VERIFICATION, WHICH WE CALL AGE GATE KEEPING THAT BROWSER KEEPS THOSE COOKIES SO STUDENTS CAN COME BACK LATER AND THEY CAN ACTUALLY USE OLDER SIBLINGS ACCOUNTS OR EVEN PARENTS ACCOUNTS. WOW. SO ARE THERE SPECIFIC WAYS THAT YOU CAN MONITOR WHAT WEBSITES YOUR CHILD HAS ACCESS TO, EVEN IF THEY DELETE THE HISTORY? YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. SO THE BEST WAY TO TO MONITOR YOUR CHILDREN IS TO MAKE SURE YOU’RE HAVING OPEN LINES OF COMMUNICATION AND REALLY TELLING THEM ABOUT THE DANGERS OF ONLINE GAMBLING, WHICH CAN INCLUDE SKIPPING CLASS OR WORKING TO HAVE THEIR GAMBLING CONTINUE SPENDING LESS TIME WITH FRIENDS AND FAMILY, AND EVEN LYING ABOUT HOW MUCH TIME THEY’RE SPENDING. SO THE BEST WAY THAT THE BEST THING THAT PARENTS CAN DO IS USING PARENTAL CONTROLS. AND ONE OF THE GREAT THINGS THAT SMART GEN SOCIETY DOES IS WE ACTUALLY HAVE A SMART SETTINGS WORKSHOP. SO IF PARENTS DON’T KNOW HOW TO SET UP THOSE RESTRICTIONS, WE CAN ASSIST THEM. YEAH. AND AMY, SOMETIMES THE LAPTOPS AND TABLETS KIDS GET AT SCHOOL CAN MONITOR OR BLOCK THOSE SITES. HOW DOES THAT WORK, THOUGH? SO EVERY TIME A STUDENT GETS A DEVICE FROM AN EDUCATION, YOU KNOW, THE SCHOOL OR ADMINISTRATION, THEY USUALLY HAVE SOME KIND OF BLOCKING SOFTWARE ON THERE. SO WHAT IT DOES IS IT BLOCKS INAPPROPRIATE APPS AND WEBSITES. IT CAN EVEN MONITOR FOR TO FILTER CONTENT OR EVEN TRACK BROWSER HISTORY. SO MANY TIMES, IF YOU’RE CONCERNED THAT YOU HAVE YOUR STUDENTS HAVING A GAMBLING PROBLEM OR THEY’RE ACCESSING THAT ON YOUR PERSONAL DEVICE OR THE SCHOOL’S DEVICE, YOU CAN BRING IT UP TO YOUR SCHOOL ADMINISTRATOR, ADMINISTRATION OR THEIR COUNSELOR. I CAN’T BELIEVE SCHOOL’S ALREADY STARTING FOR SO MANY AS KIDS HEAD BACK. HOW CAN YOU MONITOR THE POTENTIAL FOR ONLINE BULLYING? THAT’S A REALLY IMPORTANT QUESTION. SO WE KNOW 1 IN 4 STUDENTS EVERY MONTH REPORT BEING ONLINE AND CYBERBULLYING. SO ONE OF THE BEST THINGS PARENTS CAN DO IS REALLY HAVE THOSE OPEN, IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS WITH THEIR KIDS TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY KNOW THEY CAN KIND OF TELL THEM IF THEY’RE HAVING ANYTHING GOING ON. SO WE SAY ALWAYS ACKNOWLEDGE IF A STUDENT IS HAVING A PROBLEM TO LISTEN, ASK QUESTIONS AND HELP THEM SUPPORT THROUGH THAT BULLYING EFFORT. AND SOMETIMES THAT IS CALLING THE SCHOOL. OTHER TIMES IT’S JUST GETTING STUDENTS SOME KIND OF TECHNIQUE THAT THEY CAN DEFLECT SOME OF THAT BULLYING. AND OTHER TIMES IT’S CALLING SMART GEN SOCIETY TO GET SOME ONE ON ONE SERVICES. ALL RIGHT. AMY KONINSKY WITH SMAR

Local expert weighs in on how to keep children away from online gambling sites

We've heard a lot about online gambling recently, and it might be easier to access than you think. Amie Konwinski with Smart Gen Society joined KETV NewsWatch 7 to talk about keeping kids off those sites.See the full interview in the video above.Get the latest headlines from KETV NewsWatch 7

OMAHA, Neb. —

We've heard a lot about online gambling recently, and it might be easier to access than you think.

Amie Konwinski with Smart Gen Society joined KETV NewsWatch 7 to talk about keeping kids off those sites.

See the full interview in the video above.