Hong Kong  - Newspapers have been blamed for a rise in youth gambling, especially on football matches, a media report said Monday.

As a result, newspapers should run betting coverage in separate supplements rather than include it as part of their sports sections to reduce youngsters' exposure to gambling, the South China Morning Post said, quoting a survey.

The poll, by the pro-Beijing Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, found that 25 per cent of respondents said they had placed bets on the Euro 2008 soccer matches.

Of these 20 per cent were first time gamblers and 6 per cent admitted they had borrowed money to bet. Of those who had placed bets, 96 per cent said they had wagered less than 500 Hong Kong dollars (64 dollars) on each match.

Benny Yeung, a district councilor for the party who carried out the poll of about 1,000 people said: "The figures sound small. But it is an alarming signal that more of our young people are gambling on football."

He added: "Nowadays, sports pages are more often occupied by football betting information, odds and dividends, than stories about matches. It would be better if the newspapers ran the betting information in a separate supplement on football gambling, like that on horse racing."

Betting on football was made legal in Hong Kong in 2003, but legal bets can only be placed through the Hong Kong Jockey Club, which helps fund community and social projects, but which also has a monopoly on legalised gambling. (dpa)