The Independent reported that a Rutgers University survey found more than four in 10 U.S. teens ages 13 to 17 had gambled in the past year, raising concerns about young people's exposure to gambling-related harm.
The survey included 1,677 respondents and asked about 21 activities, ranging from sports and esports betting to cryptocurrency trading, prediction-market trading, bingo, raffles and skill games, according to the report. Among teens ages 13 to 17 who gambled in the past year, about 11% were classified as high risk for gambling-related problems. The Independent described the work as the first U.S. effort in nearly two decades to measure gambling prevalence among adolescents and young adults.
Lia Nower, director of Rutgers’ Center for Gambling Studies, called the findings “a wake-up call” for parents, educators, health professionals and policymakers, according to the outlet. Nower pointed to the way betting has become woven into entertainment and everyday media, exposing adolescents outside traditional gambling venues. She also raised concerns that smartphones and gambling by relatives can draw teenagers into wagering.
Rutgers found the highest gambling participation among Black respondents ages 13 to 27; lower household income was associated with more severe gambling problems, and family gambling was associated with gambling among young people. A separate January report by nonprofit Common Sense Media found 36% of boys ages 11 to 17 had gambled in the previous year, according to The Independent.
Rutgers researchers recommended starting prevention education in middle school, citing the need to address risk at home and family gambling. They also proposed closer oversight of gambling-like products and a federal gambling regulator to set safeguards. The proposals included a new office for problem gambling at the National Institutes of Health, the outlet reported. The office could direct prevention and treatment toward groups considered at highest risk.
The Independent said U.S. sports betting expanded after a May 2018 Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for states to legalize it. The outlet also cited Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers, who said Americans wager billions of dollars annually on sports.
