Survey: Youth gambling risks

A national survey of nearly 1,700 Americans aged 13-28, conducted by the Center for Gambling Studies at the Rutgers School of Social Work, examined prevalence of 21 gambling activities, ranging from bingo, raffles, and games of skill to sports betting, cryptocurrency trading, e-sports betting, and trading on prediction markets.

The findings:

• Gambling: 52.5% had gambled in the past year, including 42.7% of those 13-17 (often through activities such as bingo, raffles, and games of skill).
• Problem gambling: 5.4% of all respondents were high-risk problem gamblers. Among those who gambled in the past year, 39.5% showed some level of gambling-related risk, and 10.3% were at high risk for problem gambling. Among those 13-17 who gambled in the past year, about 11% were classified as high risk for problems.
• Demographics: High-risk problem gambling rates were similar for females and males. Black respondents reported the highest participation in gambling in the past year, and among those who gambled, higher rates of Black and Hispanic respondents were classified as high-risk problem gamblers compared to White respondents. Lower household income was associated with the highest rates of gambling problems.
• Family impact: 41.1% of those surveyed reported that a family/household member gambled, including 51.5% of adolescents. Gambling by family and household members was strongly associated with gambling and problem gambling among young people. Those who believed a household member had a gambling problem were more than 5 times as likely to be high-risk gamblers, while those who gambled with a family member were more than 4 times as likely. Among adolescents who classified as high risk for problem gambling, 75.5% had a family member who gambled, 66.3% believed a family member had a gambling problem, and 61.2% had gambled with a family member.
• Gambling setting/activity: About 40% of those who bet on prediction markets and 41% of social casino game players were classified as high-risk problem gamblers, a rate nearly 4 times as high as gambling on other activities. Nearly 46% of those who gambled used both online and in-person venues. Of high-risk problem gamblers, 65.4% used both settings, and 52.5% gambled weekly or more. High-risk problem gamblers participated in an average of 6.7 activities, compared with 2.7 among gamblers without problems.
• Mental health and substance use: Those who gambled reported higher rates of alcohol use (44.6% vs. 25.9% of those who did not gamble), binge drinking (25.6% vs. 10.5%), drug use (26.7% vs. 17.6%), excessive social media use (51% vs. 38.7%), and excessive shopping (12.6% vs. 7.8%). Among high-risk problem gamblers, more than half reported anxiety, 38.4% reported depression, and 13.1% reported suicidal ideation.

The recommendations: The researchers recommend:

• Starting prevention education in middle school to provide students, parents, teachers, and counselors evidence-based information about gambling risks
• Strengthening oversight of emerging gambling-like products that fall outside conventional gambling safeguards
• Establishing a federal gambling regulatory agency to set national minimum standards and safeguards
• Funding prevention and treatment where risk is highest by creating an office for problem gambling within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), with community partnerships in low-income communities