Frequency of engagement with legal UK youth gambling products is associated with adult disordered gambling

Pws, Newall; Amt, Russell; Sharman, Stephen; Walasek, Lukasz

doi:10.31234/osf.io/72uav

Cited by 10 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…This may also be because crane grab machines are the only product out of the five tested that does not yield monetary winnings. The results for levels of recalled usage (hypothesis 2) confirm what was found in an earlier study (Newall et al, 2020). Like the present results, that earlier study also found a statistically significant relationship between recalled scratchcard engagement and adult disordered gambling.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

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Associations between recalled use of legal UK youth gambling products and adult disordered gambling

Newall

Russell

Sharman

et al. 2020

JBA

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Background and aims: The UK allows a number of gambling products to be legally used by people under the age of 18. The aim of this study was to explore associations between recalled legal usage of five youth gambling products and adult disordered gambling. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study of 1,057 adult UK gamblers, aged 18–40. Recalled legal use of five youth gambling products (category D fruit machines, coin push machines, crane grab machines, the National Lottery, and National Lottery scratchcards) was correlated with adult disordered gambling symptoms as measured by the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). Results: Recalled rates of legal engagement with each product ranged from 50.9% for Category D fruit machines to 96.6% for coin push machines. For category D fruit machines, the National Lottery, and National Lottery scratchcards, merely having legally engaged with these products as a child was associated with adult disordered gambling. Furthermore, higher levels of recalled legal youth usage with each of the five products was also associated with adult disordered gambling. Discussion and conclusions: These results relate to recent government proposals to increase the National Lottery scratchcard legal age to 18, and add to a wider literature on youth gambling and subsequent gambling-related harm.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

“…The authors are only aware of one previous attempt to explore associations between recalled rates of legal youth gambling engagement and adult disordered gambling (Newall, Russell, Sharman, & Walasek, 2020). That study found that higher rates of recalled usage for each product were associated with adult disordered gambling.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Associations between recalled use of legal UK youth gambling products and adult disordered gambling

Newall

Russell

Sharman

et al. 2020

JBA

Self Cite

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“…However, higher risk-taking in youth is associated with addiction vulnerability later in life 29,31,35 . Thus, adolescent loot box purchasing may have implications for future risk-taking behaviour 36,37 , as risk is an inherent part of loot box engagement and loot box use is considered by some to be a form of risk behaviour 38,39 .…”

Section: Loot Boxesmentioning

confidence: 99%

No effect of short term exposure to gambling like reward systems on post game risk taking

D’Amico

Drummond

Salas

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

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Is engaging with gambling-like video game rewards a risk factor for future gambling? Despite speculation, there are no direct experimental tests of this “gateway hypothesis”. We test a mechanism that might support this pathway: the effects of engaging with gambling-like reward mechanisms on risk-taking. We tested the hypothesis that players exposed to gambling-like rewards (i.e., randomised rewards delivered via a loot box) would show increased risk-taking compared to players in fixed and no reward control conditions. 153 participants (Mage = 25) completed twenty minutes of gameplay—including exposure to one of the three reward conditions—before completing a gamified, online version of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). Self-reports of gambling and loot box engagement were collected via the Problem Gambling Severity Index, and Risky Loot-Box Index. Bayesian t-tests comparing BART scores across reward conditions provided moderate to strong evidence for a null effect of condition on risk-taking (BF = 4.05–10.64). Null effects were not moderated by players’ problem gambling symptomatology. A Spearman correlation between past loot box engagement and self-reported gambling severity (rs = 0.35) aligned with existing literature. Our data speak against a “gateway” hypothesis, but add support to the notion that problem gambling symptoms might make players vulnerable to overspending on loot boxes.

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“…Younger lottery-only players are more likely to report problems as a result of their use of lottery play compared to older players 2 . Early scratchcard play also poses long term risks, where playing scratchcards when 16 or 17 predicts adult gambling problems 9 .…”

Section: Rationale and Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

Examining lottery play and risk among young people in Great Britain

Stark¹,

Wardle²,

Burdett³

2021

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Purpose & Significance: Despite the popularity of lottery and scratchcards and some evidence of gambling problems among players, limited research focuses on the risks of lottery and scratchcard play and predictors of problems, especially among young people. The purpose of this project is to examine whether lottery and scratchcard participation is related to gambling problems among 16-24 year olds in Great Britain and whether general and mental health and gambling behaviours explain this relationship. Methodology: Samples of 16-24 year olds were pooled from the 2012, 2015, and 2016 Gambling in England and Scotland: Combined Data from the Health Survey for England and the Scottish Health Survey (n=3,454). Bivariate analyses and Firth method logistic regression were used to examine the relationship between past-year lottery and scratchcard participation and gambling problems, assessing the attenuating role of mental wellbeing, mental health disorders, self-assessed general health, and playing other games in past year. Results: There is a significant association between scratchcard play and gambling problems. The association somewhat attenuated but remained significant after taking into account wellbeing, mental health disorders, general health, and engagement in other gambling activities. Findings also show that gambling problems are further predicted by age (20-24 years), gender (male), lower wellbeing, and playing any other gambling games. Implications: Results are valuable for informing youth-focused education, decisions around the legal age for National Lottery products, and the development of safer gambling initiatives for high risk groups and behaviours, such as scratchcard play.

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Frequency of engagement with legal UK youth gambling products is associated with adult disordered gambling

Cited by 10 publications

References 16 publications

Associations between recalled use of legal UK youth gambling products and adult disordered gambling

Associations between recalled use of legal UK youth gambling products and adult disordered gambling

No effect of short term exposure to gambling like reward systems on post game risk taking

Examining lottery play and risk among young people in Great Britain

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