The Prevalence and Correlates of Gambling in Australian Secondary School Students

Abstract

Youth gambling is associated with a range of harms. This study aimed to examine, among Australian adolescents, the prevalence of gambling (ever, in the last month, at-risk and problem), the most frequent gambling types and modalities, and to explore the student characteristics associated with gambling in the last month and with at-risk or problem gambling. Students aged 12–17 years from Victoria and Queensland answered gambling questions as part of the Australian Secondary School Alcohol and Drug (ASSAD) Survey in 2017. The ASSAD also included a series of questions about smoking, alcohol and other drug use, and mental health. A total of 6377 students from 93 schools were included in analysis. The prevalence of ever gambling and gambling in the last month was 31% and 6% respectively. Of students who had gambled in the last month, 34% were classified as at-risk and 15% were classified as problem gamblers. The most frequent types of gambling in the last month were horse or dog race and sports betting. Students who gambled in the last month did so most frequently via a parent or guardian purchasing or playing for them, at home or at a friends’ house, and online or using an app. Regression analysis indicated that male gender, having money available to spend on self, alcohol consumption in the last seven days, the number of types of advertisements seen in the last month, and the number of peer or family members who gambled in the last month, were significantly associated with the likelihood of students gambling in the last month. Male gender, some age categories, and exposure to more types of gambling advertising were also significant predictors of being classified as an at-risk or problem gambler. This large study of youth gambling provides data on gambling behaviours and related variables from a large sample of Australian secondary school students. Student characteristics, including male gender and exposure to more types of gambling advertising, were associated with an increased likelihood of gambling in the last month and of being classified as an at-risk or problem gambler. Further implications of the study findings are discussed.

Exposure to gambling promotions and gambling behaviours in Australian secondary school students

“…Details on the study methodology have been published elsewhere ( Freund, Noble, Hill, White, Evans, et al, 2022 ). A brief overview is presented below.…”

“…Gambling items were developed through an iterative process including an extensive literature review, advice from experts in adolescent youth gambling and smoking research, and pilot testing of items with a group of adolescents (n = 10) ( Freund, Noble, Hill, White, Evans, et al, 2022 ). Prior to answering the gambling-related questions, students were given the following definition of gambling: ‘Gambling is when you pay in your own money knowing that you could lose all of it or, possibly, win back even more than you paid in.…”

“…However, there has been surprisingly little research examining the potential impact of gambling advertisements on young people’s gambling behaviour, particularly in the last 10 years when such advertising has proliferated ( Labrador et al, 2021 ). The existing research suggests that adolescent exposure to advertising is associated with an increase in the likelihood of engaging in gambling activities ( Abdi et al, 2015 , Freund et al, 2022 , Hayer et al, 2018 , Kristiansen and Severin-Nielsen, 2021 , Parrado-González and León-Jariego, 2020 ). For example, in a 2018 sample of 1,174 Spanish 12 to 20 year-olds, overall exposure to gambling advertising across different media, ranging from low to high exposure, was found to be associated with gambling frequency and problem gambling ( Parrado-González and León-Jariego, 2020 ).…”

“…For example, in a 2018 sample of 1,174 Spanish 12 to 20 year-olds, overall exposure to gambling advertising across different media, ranging from low to high exposure, was found to be associated with gambling frequency and problem gambling ( Parrado-González and León-Jariego, 2020 ). Similarly, in a sample of 6377 Australian adolescents aged 12–17 years of age, exposure to one additional type of gambling advertisement was associated with a 6% increase in the odds of gambling in the last month and a 10% increase in the odds of being classified as a problem or at risk gambler ( Freund, Noble, Hill, White, Evans, et al, 2022 ).…”

“…ads on television, online, billboards etc.) ( Freund, Noble, Hill, White, Evans, et al, 2022 ). To our knowledge, no study has examined the relative association of exposure to different types of gambling advertisement and adolescent gambling behaviour.…”