Youth Gambling: Some Current Misconceptions

While most jurisdictions have legislative statutes prohibiting children and adolescents from engaging in regulated forms of gambling there remains evidence that young people are actively engaged in a wide variety of gambling activities. Youth have been particularly drawn to many of the technological advances engaged in by the gambling industry including online gambling and gambling through social media sites. Despite the fact that most youth who gamble do so on an occasional basis, meta-analyses of gambling prevalence studies have been remarkably consistent suggesting that adolescents, in particular adolescent males, represent a high risk group for developing a gambling disorder. The short and long-term consequence for youth with a gambling disorder has been associated with concomitant mental health disorders as well as familial, legal, psychosocial and academic problems. The current review identifies the risk and a protective factor associated with adolescent disordered gambling and argues for adopting a bio-psycho-social-environmental perspective when addressing youth gambling issues.