This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: More than half (52.5%) of Americans ages 13 to 27 reported gambling in the past year, including 42.7% of teens ages 13 to 17, according to researchers at the Center for Gambling Studies at the Rutgers School of Social Work. "We are living in a time where anyone can have a casino or sportsbook in their pocket," said Lia Nower, director of the center, who led the study.
"Now teens who should be playing sports are betting on them, often with family members." In the first national prevalence study of U.S. adolescents and young adults in nearly 20 years, researchers examined 21 gambling activities, ranging from bingo, raffles and games of skill to sports betting, cryptocurrency trading, esports betting and trading on prediction markets. The findings encompass online and in-person activities. The researchers surveyed 1,677 young Americans and found 5.4% of all respondents were high-risk problem gamblers, a classification that corresponds to gambling addiction in clinical settings.
Among those who gambled in the past year, 39.5% showed some symptoms of problem gambling and 10.3% were high-risk problem gamblers. Among teenage gamblers ages 13 to 17, about 11% were classified as high risk for problems, despite being below the legal age for regulated gambling activities. "These findings should be a wake-up call for parents, educators, health professionals and policymakers," Nower said.
"Gambling is no longer confined to casinos and lottery tickets. It is increasingly embedded in video games, sports broadcasts and other products young people can access. We have worried this would increase rates of problem gambling among youth.
It does." Researchers identified that risk starts early and isn't limited to boys. Nearly 43% of teens ages 13 to 17 reported gambling in the past year, often through activities such as bingo, raffles and games of skill. Among gamblers, high-risk problem gambling rates were similar for females (10.7%) and males (9.9%).
Gambling by family and household members was strongly associated with gambling and problem gambling among young people, the researchers said. Overall, 41.1% of those surveyed reported that a family or household member gambled, including 51.5% of adolescents ages 13 to 17. Those who believed a household member had a gambling problem were more than five times as likely to be high-risk gamblers, while those who gambled with a family member were more than four times as likely.
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