But in brief, the issue can be described as follows. Most adults are rational people capable of making responsible decisions. When adults gamble, they are usually doing so recreationally - they are relaxing and having some fun, sometimes with friends, sometimes online.

An adult understands that the financial aspect of gambling serves to make the games more exciting. Most importantly, an adult understands the risks and how they can impact in the real world. Adults know when to stop playing.

Children are still developing this cognitive ability. While some children are certainly more mature than others, they do not necessarily have an understanding of how badly things can go wrong. Moreover, because children are supported by their parents, they are often shielded from the true impact of their actions.

All of this means that children are in fact at much higher risk than adults are - studies have shown that children are in fact four times more likely than adults to develop a compulsive gambling addiction if exposed to gambling before the age of majority.

There are a number of steps that parents who enjoy playing at online casinos can take to ensure that their children never have to suffer through a gambling addiction.

- close apps
If parents are playing on the Internet and have children in the house, they should always shut down their gambling session and completely exit the software before stepping away from the computer. Children are intelligent and curious, and can easily start playing with software that they find open before parents can return.

- no saved password
Many web browsers have features that save users time by offering to remember the password to different secure websites. While this is certainly convenient, it also means that anyone with physical access to a parent's computer can log into the same websites that they do.

Therefore, parents should never use the Save Password feature for an online casino website, as this will prevent children using their computer from accidentally browsing into a gambling session.

- create multiple profiles
Most operating systems allow many people to use the same computer without having access to each other's files. Parents should create separate profiles for their children's use, and always log into their own profiles when indulging in a little gambling.

- install monitoring software
There are now several companies that provide software which prevents minors from accessing information on the Internet that is not age-appropriate or is offensive. Parents are well advised to choose and install one of these options to protect their children from accessing casino websites at all.

Among the more well-known and trusted options are companies such as Net Nanny, Cybersitter and Surf Control.