Kids gambling online

A 16-year-old UK girl was able to register at 30 gambling Web sites after lying about her age, The Guardian reports. "Only seven sites requested verification of her age when she claimed to be 21." She used her youth debit card to register. The Guardian cited children's charity NCH as the source of this information. "NCH claims the findings show it is possible for children as young as 11 to register with gambling Web sites, because some banks issue debit cards to 11-year-olds." NCH called for more age verification by gambling sites. Britain's minister for gambling promised to ensure that banks and the industry work together to that end. "Around 675,000 (45%) of 16- and 17-year-olds own a debit card," The Guardian reports. "This figure does not include the number of 11-to-15-year-olds with a Solo or Visa Electron card."