Maybe it is just me, but I got a kick out of this story coming from AP via OregonLive.com.

The premise of the article is that Oregon youths are in grave danger because they like to play at free online gambling sites.

That's right. They are playing free games, not with real money. And this is bad.

But it gets even worse apparently, because the article goes on to mention that less than one percent of Oregon youths actually gamble with real money.

Now, far be it for me to make light of the fact that some underage minors are gambling online for money. Yes, that shouldn't be happening.

And I can almost agree with the premise that kids who enjoy playing online would naturally be interested in playing for real.

But let's not get stupid here, because the facts of this study actually show that the opposite is happening. Maybe one-third of the youths are trying out the free games, but less than one percent are moving to the next level and playing with cash.

If somebody told me that less than one percent of the youths in Oregon were gambling, I would congratulate the state for doing something right.

Only a few weeks ago, I posted right here about a comprehensive study that showed that about 2% of the nation's youth could be considered problem gamblers. And these people in Oregon are still worried when their numbers are actually only a fraction of the general population's?

Get real, folks. You are winning the battle and don't even know it.

If anything, the rest of the nation should be looking at what is happening in Oregon and trying to replicate it across the country.

I have always been a proponent that high schools should include a compulsory probability course to help educate youths about the actual odds they face when gambling. Teaching kids early that the odds matter can only be a good thing, in my opinion.

Well it looks to me like maybe this is what is inadvertently happening in Oregon. These youths are playing at free casino sites, and are learning that that it is actually pretty hard to win in the long term.

I mean, let's give these kids some credit here.

When they play at a free site and quickly lose their chips - it doesn't really encourage them to sign up and play for real. If anything, it seems to be encouraging them to keep their money in their pockets.

And that is what appears to be happening. Rather than gambling with real money, these youths are enjoying gambling without losing their perspective. This is a win.

As far as I can tell, this article is nothing more than an example of some rabid anti-gambling crusaders trying to twist stats to conform with their point of view, when actually the stats point to the opposite conclusion.