Frequency of gambling, mental health, and financial stress among young adults

Abstract

Gambling is increasingly recognised as a public health issue with several developed governments and supranational bodies such as the EU developing legislation and policy measures to reduce gambling harms. This research examines data for over 4,200 young people from an Irish cohort study, finding that at 20 years of age, 7.2% were gambling weekly, while a further 7.6% gambled at least on a monthly basis; with males having approximately double the gambling rate than females. Multiple regression models, adjusting for socio-economic characteristics, number of friends, financial issues, and health behaviours such as alcohol consumption and physical activity, did not uncover a significant association between gambling activities and risk of depression, life satisfaction or stress scores. However, frequent, and online gambling at 20 years was associated with double the odds of reporting difficulties repaying loans. These findings underscore the potential for targeted support and advice addressing money-related issues among young people engaging in gambling behaviours.

Introduction

Gambling is an increasingly prevalent activity [69], which may be defined as a pursuit which involves placing money or something of value at risk in the hopes of gaining money or something of greater value [37, 58]. A majority of people who gamble may do so without encountering significant problems, however, for some, gambling can lead to significant harm, and is it is increasingly recognised as a public health concern [75]. There is an ever-expanding range of gambling options, particularly in the digital sphere, where gambling has become more accessible than ever [25, 41, 69], and scholars have argued that there is no ‘safe’ level of gambling [39].

As digital natives, young people are a population group which have become increasingly likely to engage in gambling activities as it has evolved in the online space [32, 59]. This population group is also especially vulnerable to issues around gambling behaviours, where studies have shown adolescents and emerging adults are greater at risk of gambling harms [9, 62, 70]. As such, this study is motivated to examine the effects of gambling on the mental health and financial wellbeing of young people, to contribute to the evidence base which informs policymaking as governments and supra-national bodies such as the European Union increasingly move to legislate for greater gambling regulation [1, 18]. To do this, this study uses cohort data from Ireland, to examine the association between frequency of gambling activities and online gambling at 17 and 20 years on a range of positive and negative mental health metrics, as well as indicators of financial wellbeing.

The research adds to a growing body of literature on young people’s engagement with gambling, with a large rich dataset that offers advantages over existing cross-sectional studies as it encompasses followed-up cohort data. The work can control for a wide range of other factors which may confound the association between mental health, financial wellbeing, and gambling behaviours such as physical activity and alcohol consumption, addressing gaps and limitations in methodological approaches employed by other researchers. Moreover, the study setting which examines gambling among young people in Ireland provides an interesting international case study since Ireland has to date a liberalised gambling market, where the general population, and by extension, children and young people, are exposed to a heavy level of gambling advertising [33, 45], particularly in spectator sports, to which the national government has recently enacted legislation for greater regulation for the gambling industry [28].

Before outlining the methodology of this research study, the extant international literature on young people and gambling, as well as the relationship of this to mental health and financial well-being are reviewed. In situating the present research investigation, studies which examine the gambling environment in Ireland are also documented, and this section concludes outlining the research questions of the work.

Literature review

Research and clinical evidence has recognised that gambling can become addictive, since it involves reward circuits in the brain comparable to that experienced by substance abuse [77]. Since the pre-frontal cortex of the brain, responsible for rational decision making and emotional regulation, does not fully develop until the mid-twenties, young people may have a reduced ability to exert executive control over thrill-seeking urges to engage in gambling [35, 63]. Among the various motivations for gambling [65], studies have shown that for the period of emerging adulthood (ages 18–25 years), high enhancement motives, which are those directed at maximising positive emotions such as excitement and enjoyment, are particularly predictive of frequency of gambling and gambling problems in this developmental period [35]. Coping motives, which are those intended to reduce negative emotions, for example to ‘forget worries’, have also been shown to be related to gambling related harm among university students [66].

Negative consequences of gambling include financial problems, debt, and strained personal relationships, which could give rise to depression and mental health problems [30]. There is a growing concern that gambling related harm in youth can lead to adverse outcomes such as depression and suicide attempts [15, 16, 72]. The level of gambling severity can also have differential associations with harmful behaviours, where for example, Butler et al. [8] found that low levels of gambling was significantly associated with binge and higher risk drinking behaviours, but this was not so for those with moderate-high severity gambling behaviours. Moreover, negative outcomes from gambling activities have short- and longer-term implications for the individual, family members, and the wider community and society, and merit academic investigation of the effects of this risk behaviour among young people.

An early cross-sectional survey of college students in the US found that weekly internet-based gambling, reported by 6.3% of participants, was significantly associated with higher mental distress scores [56]. Context has emerged as an important factor in understanding the relationship between gambling and mental health. A four-country study of the role of psychological distress in excessive gambling among young people demonstrated a considerable degree of variability in associations between gambling and psychological risk factors across contexts where gambling laws, regulations and cultures differ [71]. A recent study, examining data on young people attending rehabilitation centres in Spain, noted a change in the profile of gamblers over time, where online gambling disorder has accelerated since 2018, particularly with regard to online sports betting using smartphones [4].

Sex differences also merit consideration, where a Scottish study found that female problem gambling and probable pathological gamblers had particularly high depressive symptomatology, suggesting co-morbid depression may be a prominent feature of problematic female gambling [44]. A longitudinal study of low socio-economic status males in Montreal, Canada, found that problem gambling at age 17 predicted an increase in depressive symptoms by age 23, and depressive symptoms at age 17 predicted an increase in problem gambling from 17 to 23 [14]. The authors concluded that the escalation may be explained by a mutual direct influence between the two sets of disorders. Other Canadian evidence from the Manitoba longitudinal study of young adults found that depressive and problem gambling symptoms were positively correlated, though neither disorder was a risk factor for the other [11]. They conclude that the co-occurrence could be explained by the presence of a common underlying factor such as substance abuse.

Several studies also find more muted or little evidence of an association between mental health outcomes and gambling activities for young people. A Spanish cross-sectional survey of adolescents found that one-in-five gambled in the previous year, but the effects on mental health outcomes were surprising, where gambling was associated with a lowering effect on depression, and higher subjective wellbeing [54]. A longitudinal study of young people based in England also found no association between weekly gambling and depression [26]. Though, a subsequent paper using the same data reported a complex relationship between gambling and anxiety and depression – where low- and moderate-risk/problem gamblers were more likely to be depressed than non-problem gamblers, and non-problem gamblers were less likely to be depressed or anxious than those who did not gamble at all [15, 16]. Moreover, using the same cohort of young English people, with data collected during the COVID-19 lockdown period, no association between gambling frequency and measures of depression, anxiety and wellbeing among young people were uncovered [15].

Turning to consider the financial impacts of gambling, it is widely acknowledged that gambling is inherently linked with a risk of losing money, experiencing financial difficulties and accruing debts, and concerns have been raised about consumer credit associated with gambling, especially for young people [51, 68]. Qualitative evidence from a variety of studies detail the strategies employed by gamblers to finance their activities, including borrowing from members of their social networks, taking out personal loans, loans from payday lenders, and credit cards [40, 41, 48]. Oksanen et al. [51] notes that in many OECD countries, young people are provided with easy access to consumer credit and payday loans once they turn 18 years of age. These loans typically have high interest rates, and must be paid back in a relatively short period of time, compared to long-term loans, such as student loans or mortgages [3, 5]. Since consumer credit and payday loans are accessible for population groups who do not have stable income or assets to obtain loans with lower interest rates, they have become popular among young people [5, 27].

In the UK, Muggleton et al. [46] showed that a 10% increase in gambling consumption was connected to a 11.2% rise in credit card usage, and a 51.5% rise in high-cost payday loans. Additionally, those engaged in gambling were 400% more likely to avail of a payday loan in the subsequent month, compared to non-gamblers. Similarly, datasets of loans and bank transactions from Sweden [22], revealed that more intense and potentially problematic gambling patterns were associated with failure to pay back loans. In a study of individuals seeking debt refinancing, Marionneau et al. [38] found that individuals with unsecured loans (such as instant and pay-day loans) had lost substantially more money in gambling in the previous year than individuals without unsecured loans. Thus far, there are few quantitative studies which look at the relationship between gambling and financial issues specifically for young people, an exception is a study of 18–25 year-olds from Finland, which found that problem gambling was associated with consumer debt, which was further associated with debt problems [51]. The present study for the setting of Ireland aims to expand on this sparse literature base.

Gambling in Ireland

The research for this paper focuses on young people in Ireland, a nation experiencing significant growth in its gambling industry. The sector boasts an annual gross gambling revenue of approximately €2 billion, placing its value on par with Irish beef exports in 2022. [50]. Although the legal gambling age in Ireland is 18 for both online and physical environments, children and young people face substantial exposure to gambling advertisements. This exposure spans various mediums, from high street signage and sports sponsorships to television, online platforms, social media channels, and online gaming environments [33, 42, 45]. The legal age to gamble in Ireland is 18 years in online and physical environments, yet children and young people are exposed to heavy amounts of gambling advertising, ranging from physical exposure in the high street to marketing in sports contexts, on television, online, and across social media channels and online gaming platforms [33, 42, 45].

Kerr et al. [31] highlight that Ireland's liberal stance on the gambling industry and gambling behaviour, coupled with the social stigma surrounding problem gambling, has fostered the development of harmful gambling practices. It is estimated that one-in-thirty adults in Ireland suffer from problem gambling [49]. Furthermore, Irish healthcare treatment data indicates that gambling-related harm is particularly associated with being male, young, and from a socio-economically disadvantaged background [12, 29]. One study of 20-year-olds in Ireland specifically found a higher propensity to gamble among young men, especially those involved in sports [13]. Additionally, research by Mohan [42] established an association between engagement in online gaming and online gambling activities during later adolescence and youth.

To address these trends and concerns, the Irish parliament approved new legislation in October 2024 [28]. The aim of this legislation is to provide for tighter regulation of the gambling industry and to set up an independent regulator. Therefore, the evidence generated by this research regarding the association between gambling activity and mental health and financial well-being outcomes is highly relevant for national policymaking. Its implications could also extend to other countries and the wider European Union [1, 18].

The present study

This research adds quantitative evidence from Ireland on young people’s participation in gambling behaviours at 17 years, just before they turn the legal age to engage in gambling, followed-up again at 20 years. The work benefits from a large national cohort study, where the rich dataset affords controlling for a range of factors which can influence the mental health of young people including alcohol consumption and physical activity levels, improving on existing studies in this field. The investigation also examines the potential for interacting influences between gender and gambling behaviours on mental health and financial wellbeing, which is seldom examined in extant research. A novel contribution of this work is that it also examines, using interaction terms, whether there is a differential effect of gambling activities for young people in employment compared to those who are in full-time education or not working, contributing to a gap in understanding. This work provides value in contributing Irish-based evidence on the effects of young people engaging with gambling activities during a period for which the gambling market was very liberalised and where gambling is highly embedded in society and culture [20]; though new legislative enactments will introduce stricter regulation going forward. The aim of this research is to contribute to the accumulating evidence on the effects of gambling for young people to inform national and international policymaking in this evolving space. The following four research questions are explored:

1. Is the frequency of gambling by young people at 20 years associated with their mental health and financial well-being?

2. Is engaging in online gambling at 17 and 20 years associated with mental health and financial well-being among young people at 20 years?

3. Is there an interacting association between gambling activities and gender in the association with mental health and financial well-being among young people?

4. Is there an interacting association between gambling activities and studying or employment circumstances in the association with mental health and financial well-being among young people?

Due to the mixed international evidence on the effect of gambling and mental health among young people, no direction of effect is hypothesised. However, it is hypothesised that gambling behaviours will have a negative association with financial well-being [51]. Since studies have found a differential effect of gambling on mental health for males and females (for example, [44]), a difference between these groups is expected to be observed in the present study, though the direction of the effect is not hypothesised. Finally, young people who are in full-time employment compared to those who are full-time students or not in employment, may have more financial resources to better afford gambling activities, and thus the interactive association with mental health and financial indicators may differ for these groups, though a hypothesis for the direction of is not formalised given the exploratory nature of this investigation.

Methods

Data

This research draws upon secondary data from two waves of the Growing Up in Ireland (GUI) study, specifically from its 1998 cohort. Launched in 2008, GUI is a nationally representative longitudinal study that tracks children and young people across Ireland, gathering extensive demographic, socioeconomic, and health information. The 1998 cohort initially comprised 8,568 families of nine-year-olds, first interviewed between August 2007 and May 2008, with sampling based on Irish primary schools (for further details see [47]). For this study, we utilise data from the two waves of this cohort:

• Wave 3, conducted in 2015–16, when the participants were 17/18 years old, captured data from 6,216 individuals.

• Wave 4, which took place in 2018/19, when the young people were 20 years old. This wave collected information from 5,190 participants, representing 61% of the original 9-year-old sample [52].

For data collection, in-person interviews were conducted with both the young person and their primary caregiver using computer-assisted personal interviews (CAPI). Additionally, information on sensitive topics was gathered via a self-complete questionnaire (SCQ), administered through Computer-Assisted Self Interview (CASI).

The GUI data is made available to researchers as anonymised secondary research microdata files. Access is granted upon application to, and approval from, the Central Statistics Office in Ireland. As this paper involved the analysis of already anonymised secondary data, specific research ethics approval was not required for this study.

The GUI data collection itself underwent ethical approval by a Research Ethics Committee of Ireland's Departments of Health and Children, in strict accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Furthermore, all children, young people, and their families who participated provided informed consent for their responses to be included in GUI research.

Dependent variables

This paper examines whether engaging in gambling activities is associated with five indicators of mental health and financial stress. The first dependent variable examined is symptoms of depression, captured by the Centre for Epidemiological Studies’ Depression Scale (eight-item) (CESD-8), a short self-report screening instrument for depression in the general population. Respondents report how frequently within the previous seven days they experienced a number of symptoms of depression, for example, ‘How often within the last week…did you feel sad?’. Answers are given on a four-point scale, ranging from 1 (rarely or none of the time) to 4 (most or all of the time). A composite score is calculated by summing responses across the eight items (range: 0–24). A binary variable is created to indicate symptoms of depression where a score of nine or more from the CESD-8 instrument meets a criterion where a person may be classified as having ‘possible depression’ [6, 21]. A second outcome examined is the life satisfaction score reported by the young people who rated their satisfaction with life from 0 (extremely unsatisfied) to 10 (extremely satisfied). The third outcome investigated is stress score, measured using the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS) subscale. The DASS stress subscale contains seven items, which assesses difficulty relaxing, nervous arousal, and being easily upset or agitated, irritable or over-reactive and impatient [24]. The scale items refer to how much the young person felt that a statement applied to them in the previous week; for example, ‘I found myself getting agitated’ and ‘I found it difficult to relax’. The items are rated on a four-point scale, from ‘did not apply to me at all’ to ‘applied to me very much’, where scores are summed to give a total score for stress (rescaled as 0–10).

In terms of indicators of financial stress, survey participants were asked to indicate their degree of difficulty or ease in making ends meet, with answers on a six-point scale ranging from ‘with great difficulty’ to ‘very easily’. A binary variable was created as the outcome difficulties in making ends meet where those who answered ‘with difficulty’ or ‘with great difficulty’ were categorised as 1, zero otherwise. The final outcome examined is a binary variable, difficulties in repaying loans, where the young person responds that they had ‘a lot’ or ‘a little’ difficulty meeting any loan or debt repayments from a four-point scale.

Exposures of interest

In the 'Smoking, alcohol, and drugs' section of the self-complete questionnaire (SCQ), the 20-year-old participants were asked about the frequency of their engagement in three categories of gambling, both in person and online. These categories were:

1. Lottery tickets

2. Casino tables or video games for money

3. Other games for money, betting on horses or sporting events, or participating in other forms of gambling for money

Respondents could select from six frequency options: "a few times a week," "once a week," "once or twice a month," "occasionally," "a few times a year," or "never."

For this study, participants' self-reported gambling frequencies were converted into binary variables. Each type of gambling activity was coded as '1' if the participant gambled 'at least once a month' (meaning they selected "a few times a week," "once a week," or "once or twice a month"); all other responses were coded as '0'. From these, a composite dummy variable, gamble monthly but less than weekly was created. This variable was set to '1' if a participant reported engaging in any1 of the three gambling activities at least once a month.2 Separately, a gamble weekly binary variable was generated; this was coded as '1' if a participant reported gambling "a few times a week" or "once a week" for any of the three categories.3

The SCQ's 'Internet and Technology use' section in Wave 4 included a question about 16 different internet activities. One of these options was 'virtual casino/placing bets'. If a young adult selected this, it was coded as '1' for a binary variable indicating online gambling (20); otherwise, it was coded as '0'. Similarly, 'virtual casinos' was an option in Wave 3's internet-based activities question, which allowed for the creation of the online gambling (17) variable.

Control variables

Where the link between mental health and gambling behaviour is modelled, it is important to account for other factors which could confound such relationships, for example gender, socioeconomic factors, and health behaviours. As such, the analysis incorporated several control variables, all recorded when participants were 20 years old. These included their gender, principal economic status (categorised as in education, in employment, or not in education, employment, or training (NEET)), and whether they were residing outside the family home. Aspects of their family background were also accounted for, such as being from a one-parent household, the social class of their primary caregiver, and their parent's highest educational attainment. Furthermore, we considered whether the young person reported a low number of friends, experiencing difficulties making ends meet (except when this was the outcome variable under investigation), their smoking status, frequency of alcohol consumption, and level of physical activity.

Statistical analysis

The variables of investigation were first summarised as descriptive statistics, and the bivariate associations between gambling activities, mental health and financial stress indicators were examined. For the continuous dependent variables (life satisfaction and stress), multivariate analysis, using ordinary least squares regression was employed to analyse independent associations between the outcomes and the exposures of interest, including the control variables. In a similar arrangement, the binary dependent variables (symptoms of depression, difficulties making ends meet, and difficulties repaying loans), were analysed using multivariate logistic models.

The analytical sample consists of 4,211 individuals with complete data across all variables included in the models. Of these, 47.7% were male (unweighted), a figure that rises to 49.8% when weighted for national representativeness. Additional modelling interacts the gender dummy, male, with the gambling activities of interest, as well an interaction of those young people in full-time employment (30.4%), to examine if there are differential effects by gender and working status.

All analyses were conducted using STATA 17. While the standard threshold for statistical significance is a p-value of p < 0.05, we also consider a more conservative p-value of p < 0.01.4 This stricter threshold is relevant here because it helps to account for multiple hypothesis testing, given the five outcomes of interest in this work.5

Results

A summary of the sample's characteristics can be found in Table 1. Over 1-in-6 (18.5%) of 20-year-olds met the threshold for depressive symptoms according to the CESD-8 indicator, with a large gender differential, where over 1-in-5 females met this criterion, compared to approximately 1-in-8 males. On average, 20-year-olds in the sample reported a life satisfaction score of 7 on a 0–10 scale. Their average stress score was 5 on a 0–10 scale, with females reporting higher average stress levels. Approximately 8% reported difficulties making ends meet, while around 1-in-20 reported they had difficulties repaying loans.

Table 1.

Summary statistics

Variable	Total*	Male+	Female+
Mental health and financial difficulties indicators (20)
Symptoms of depression (%)	18.5	13.6	20.7
Life satisfaction score (mean)	7.0	7.1	7.0
Stress score (mean)	5.1	5.0	5.6
Difficulties making ends meet (%)	7.7	5.8	8.2
Difficulties repaying loans (%)	4.8	4.2	4.1
Gambling exposures of interest (%)
Never gamble or gamble infrequently (less than monthly) (20)	85.2	82.7	92.2
Gamble monthly but less than weekly (20)	7.6	8.5	3.8
Gamble weekly (20)	7.2	8.8	4.7
Online gambling (20)	9.0	14.7	1.9
Online gambling (17)	2.8	4.3	0.6
Controls – 20 years (%)
Male	49.8	/	/
In education/training	65.0	69.8	75.5
In employment	30.4	27.0	20.8
Not in education or training	4.6	3.2	3.6
Living at non-parental address	34.2	33.8	39.9
Living in Dublin	23.3	25.0	23.5
Lone parent household	22.2	13.2	16.9
Higher social class background	65.5	80.8	77.4
Low number of friends (2 friends or less)	2.4	2.3	1.6
Daily/occasional smoking	38.7	41.3	35.9
Monthly alcohol consumption or less	24.5	18.9	23.4
Consumes alcohol 2–4 a month	49.5	48.3	52.3
Consumes alcohol at least twice weekly	25.8	32.8	24.3
Low level of physical activity	61.5	50.7	66.2
Medium level of physical activity	29.0	35.8	27.0
High level of physical activity	9.5	13.6	6.9
Observations	4211	2008	2203

^*Weighted for representativeness using weights for 20-year-old survey

⁺ Split sample is unweighted

In terms of the gambling indicators, 7.2% reported gambling at least weekly, and a further 7.6% reported gambling on at least a monthly basis, with more males frequently gambling than females. Between 17 and 20 years the growth in online gambling was of a magnitude of approximately three (2.8% to 9%).

Figure 1 displays different patterns in the indicators for mental health between those who reported gambling activities and those who do not. More frequently gambling (monthly and weekly) was associated with a slightly higher risk of depression than never or rarely gambling. Average life satisfaction scores were the same for those who frequently gambled and those who did not, though online gamblers had slightly higher average life satisfaction scores. There was little variation in stress scores between those engaged in frequent gambling and those who did not gamble, though mean stress scores were lower for those who reported online gambling. A higher proportion of those who struggled to repay loans was observed for young people engaged in gambling activities.

Fig. 1.

Outcomes by gambling activities

The estimation results from multivariate regression analysis, displayed in Table 2, do not demonstrate a statistically significant association between frequency of gambling or engaging in online gambling and symptoms of depression, stress scores, life satisfaction, nor difficulties in making ends meet.

Table 2.

Estimation results of gambling activities on mental health and financial difficulties outcomes

N = 4211	Symptoms of depression	Life satisfaction score	Stress score	Struggling to make ends meet	Struggling to repay loans
Exposures of interest
Reference: Never gamble or gamble infrequently (i.e. less than monthly) at 20 years
Gamble at least monthly but less than weekly (20)	1.048 (0.190)	−0.071 (0.121)	0.286 (0.300)	1.056 (0.282)	2.028** (0.548)
Gamble weekly (20)	1.110 (0.187)	−0.041 (0.102)	0.133 (0.259)	0.944 (0.232)	2.474** (0.590)
Ref: Do not online gamble at 20 years
Online gambling (20)	0.884 (0.156)	0.147 (0.109)	−0.225 (0.269)	0.854 (0.219)	1.858* (0.470)
Ref: Do not online gamble at 17 years
Online gambling (17)	0.684 (0.232)	0.227 (0.194)	−0.711 (0.466)	0.990 (0.392)	1.836 (0.719)

Estimates are coefficients from OLS regression for continuous variables, and odds ratios from logistic models are reported for binary outcomes

Estimates adjust for control variables – Male, employment/education status, living at non-parental address, living in Dublin, lone parent household, social class background, low number of friends, daily/occasional smoking, frequency of alcohol consumption, level of physical activity, and struggling to make ends meet (excluded as a control in the model for which it is a dependent variable). Full results available from corresponding author on request

Level of statistical significance indicted as p-values of: ⁺p < 0.1, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001

Standard errors clustered on individual identifier presented in parentheses

However, gambling activities were statistically significantly associated with difficulties in repaying loans among the young people, where weekly gambling compared to not gambling was associated with a 2.4 higher odds of struggling to repay loans, while gambling on at least a monthly basis was associated with twice the odds. Online gambling at 20 years was also associated with a 1.8 higher odds of difficulties in repaying loans compared to not reporting any online gambling activities.

The results in Table 3 do not demonstrate strong evidence (at a p-value < 0.05) of differential effects of gambling activities by gender; only online gambling at 17 years was associated with a statistically significant 2.6% higher stress scores for males compared to females. The interaction of those in-employment also broadly did not display a differential effect of gambling activities by employment status, though gambling monthly was associated with a 1.5 higher odds of the risk of depression for this group.

Table 3.

Estimation results of gambling activities on mental health and financial stress outcomes, group interactions

N = 4211	Symptoms of depression	Life satisfaction score	Stress score	Struggling to make ends meet	Struggling to repay loans
Interaction with male (reference: female)
Ref: Never gamble or gamble infrequently (i.e. less than monthly) at 20 years
Gamble at least monthly but less than weekly (20) *male	0.561 (0.204)	−0.143 (0.206)	0.767 (0.534)	0.591 (0.325)	1.220 (0.719)
Gamble weekly (20) *male	0.786 (0.266)	−0.105 (0.165)	0.844 (0.439)	1.528 (0.169)	0.940 (0.896)
Ref: Do not online gamble at 20 years
Online gambling (20) *male	0.895 (0.379)	0.451 (0.414)	−0.161 (0.861)	0.538 (0.321)	0.523 (0.291)
Ref: Do not online gamble at 17 years
Online gambling (17) *male	1.178 (0.119)	−0.576 (0.320)	2.634* (1.204)	0.266 (0.221)	0.618 (0.543)
Interaction with in-employment (reference: those in full time education and NEETs)
Ref: Never gamble or gamble infrequently (i.e. less than monthly) at 20 years
Gamble at least monthly but less than weekly (20) *in-employment	1.548* (0.343)	0.155 (0.533)	−0.399 (0.601)	0.775 (0.285)	1.066 (0.569)
Gamble weekly (20) *in-employment	1.043 (0.223)	0.018 (0.227)	0.347 (0.561)	0.959 (0.272)	0.934 (0.472)
Ref: Do not online gamble at 20 years
Online gambling (20) *in-employment	0.591 (0.175)	0.039 (0.246)	−0.164 (0.565)	2.413+ (1.236)	0.982 (0.481)
Ref: Do not online gamble at 17 years
Online gambling (17) *in-employment	1.007 (0.684)	−0.323 (0.433)	−0.554 (0.978)	2.137 (1.711)	2.819 (2.238)

Estimates are coefficients from OLS regression for continuous variables, and odds ratios from logistic models are reported for binary outcomes. Estimates adjust for control variables – Male, employment/education status, living at non-parental address, living in Dublin, lone parent household, social class background, low number of friends, daily/occasional smoking, frequency of alcohol consumption, level of physical activity, and struggling to make ends meet (excluded as a control in the model for which it is a dependent variable). Full results available from corresponding author on request. Level of statistical significance indicted as: ⁺p < 0.1, *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, *** p < 0.001

Standard errors clustered on individual identifier presented in parentheses

Discussion

Explaining the research findings

Using a large sample of young people in Ireland this study finds that gambling is a prevalent activity, and between 17 and 20 years a three times greater proportion of the cohort engaged with online gambling, highlighting the dynamic nature of this behaviour [72]. The regression analysis did not find a statistically association between gambling activities and indicators of depression or life satisfaction, which has also been reported in other studies [15, 16, 26, 76]; though these findings contrast with research which do find that gambling was associated with poorer mental health outcomes [14–16, 36, 56]. The lack of association between gambling and mental health symptoms found in this study may be due to the categorical nature of the exposure variable of interest, capturing only frequency of gambling, which masks potential effects from those experiencing significant gambling related harm. It may also be the case that at 20 years of age, it may be too early, yet, to see any substantial effects on mental health from engaging in gambling behaviours – these may come later for example, as financial losses accumulate over time.

Crucially, the analysis in this research uncovers stronger evidence of a link between gambling activities and experiencing difficulties repaying loans in young adulthood. Gambling inherently requires the wagering of money or an item of value, and therefore feeding a gambling habit may encourage young gamblers to make poorer choices in relation to their finances, for example, they may choose to take out high interest payday loans which can be more difficult to pay off [3, 5, 51]. This positive association of frequently gambling and difficulties in repaying loans in the present study chime with the findings from with other empirical-based international studies [23, 38, 46]. Qualitative evidence also sheds light on the financial practices of young gamblers, where McGee [41] reported that engagement in sports gambling led to considerable harms for many of the young men participating in focus groups, highlighting financial precarity and indebtedness as pertinent issues, with a culture of ‘chasing losses’ linked to the use of pay-day loans, overdrafts and credit cards. The research also explained that some young male participants described distorted relationships with money from gambling online where they had felt that the money staked online was not the same as real physical money in the hand.

Policy implications

The overarching aim of this study is to elucidate the relationship between young people's gambling behaviours and their mental and financial well-being, thereby offering empirically informed insights for policy development. It is incumbent upon legislators and policymakers to determine the extent to which young people are safeguarded from potentially detrimental gambling activities. In pursuing such protections, a careful balance must be struck to ensure that restrictive measures do not unduly impinge upon the consensual gambling experiences of adults [32]. However, it is also crucial to acknowledge that extant research indicates there is no 'safe' level of gambling [39], with every increase in gambling consumption correlating with an elevated risk of associated harms.

The risk of gambling on youngers people’s financial situation is highlighted in the findings of this research, particularly for those for those with existing loans, and these issues must be further investigated and tackled from a policy and regulation point of view. Other scholars have also called for increased attention to financial problems in gamblers [22], and it has been suggested that limiting consumer debt (for example, access to payday loans, credit cards etc.) among emerging adults could help avert potential financial harms from gambling among this population group [51].

Gambling service providers, particularly those operating online, should face increased obligations to implement robust procedures and controls for monitoring client behaviour for signs of gambling-related harm. Such protocols should incorporate age-specific considerations, for instance, for clients under 21 or 25 years of age. Examples of such measures include setting limits on the number of bets placed per day, implementing value thresholds, and enforcing credit card bans. Crucially, these preventative and protective areas necessitate comprehensive legislative enactment and rigorous enforcement, rather than solely relying on voluntary, industry-led responsible gambling frameworks.

In reviewing policy measures in European countries, Aimo et al. [1] comment that liberal gambling policies and the expansion of gambling availability demand new tools to maintain consumer protection. Sulkunen et al. [67] review policy instruments employed to reduce damage from participation in gambling activities concluding that the most effective regulations are those that target the full population rather than ‘at risk’ or ‘problem’ gamblers. Wide-reaching public health-oriented policies, such as availability restrictions, as implemented in Finland and Norway have been shown to be effective in preventing gambling harm. For example, the removal of electronic gaming machines, associated with intensive gambling, in Norway in 2007 reduced overall gambling prevalence and gambling related harm [17, 60]. Stricter rules on the online marketing of gambling have also been linked to reduced gambling harm [57]; and restrictions on gambling advertising has been called for to greater protect minors [7, 33] and young people [45].

Educational programmes, delivered within schools, colleges, and other youth-centric environments such as sports clubs, also have a critical role to play. These initiatives can educate young people about the inherent risks of gambling and its financial implications. Furthermore, they can foster the development of self-control and resilience through expectation management, thereby contributing to overall well-being [71]. Educational and awareness-raising campaigns should particularly highlight the potentially harmful progression from recreational gambling to using gambling as a coping mechanism for financial or emotional distress among younger cohorts [74, 76].

The provision and clear signposting of support services, including financial management and debt advice, would be especially beneficial for young people confronting such challenges. Notably, Petry and Weinstock [56] identified a paucity of gambling-related harm services on college campuses, despite frequent internet gamblers expressing a desire for information on harm reduction and strategies to curtail their gambling.

Treatment interventions for young adults with gambling issues could include support for mental health as well as establishing a greater financial footing [15, 16]. In a review of approaches to prevention and intervention in youth gambling behaviours, St-Pierre and Derevensky [64] report that while traditional public health approaches such as restricting access, advertising, and educational awareness are vital, such approaches need further refinement to be more effective, furthermore, their research outlines the promise of more novel treatment approaches in this space such as cognitive-behavioural treatments, motivational interviewing, personalised feedback interventions, and web-based services, which warrant adoption and investigation.

Potential future research directions and limitations of the present study

More research is needed from a variety of jurisdictions to examine the link between mental health and financial wellbeing outcomes and gambling behaviours, as well as interventions, using better instruments of these phenomena. Future waves of the GUI study could allow for greater longitudinal analysis of these trends over time as they young people mature and allow for better causal inference. The growing prevalence of online gambling in the cohort of young people examined in this research, as well as future cohorts, requires continued monitoring going forward so that regulation of gambling, particularly internet-based gambling can be informed, for example in terms of age restrictions and verification.

Several limitations of this research warrant acknowledgement. Firstly, the available gambling indicators from the GUI study do not directly quantify gambling-related harm. The integration of instruments such as the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) [19], or measures of gambling expenditure [43] to longitudinal studies such as GUI would offer more precise insights into young adults experiencing the most acute gambling issues and the subsequent impact on their mental and financial health.

Secondly, the study's reliance on self-report measures introduces the potential for social desirability bias, a concern given the stigmatised and sensitive nature of gambling-related harm [34]. Future research could benefit from incorporating instruments like the Attitudes Towards Gambling Scales (ATGS-8)) [10, 53], which could provide deeper understanding of the attitudes and underlying mechanisms of gambling that may influence mental health and financial states.

Finally, while this study controlled for a range of demographic, contextual, and behavioural factors, unobserved confounders—such as parental gambling, pre-existing mental health problems, or financial strain—may still influence the observed associations.

Conclusion

In conclusion, this research found that gambling is a prevalent and frequently undertaken activity for some young people in Ireland (predominantly males), and the proportion of those engaged in online gambling increased threefold in the emerging adulthood period from 17 to 20 years. Statistical modelling which accounted for a range of demographic and socioeconomic information presents evidence that engaging in gambling activities was significantly associated with challenges in repaying debt among young people at 20 years in Ireland. This finding highlights a need for greater policy attention in the area of financial practices and financial wellbeing among young people who gamble, which has received relatively little recognition thus far. Further research is required in this area which may investigate the use of various types of financing modalities young people use to support their gambling, which may include the use of payday and personal loans or credit cards to which greater legislative and policy instruments can better regulate.

The research presented here did not however find strong evidence of deleterious effect of gambling behaviours on the mental health of the young people surveyed, which is not an unusual finding as other international studies documented in this paper have also reported similar results—it may be that at the early adulthood stage of 20 years it is too premature to observe any mental health effects from such activities. As such, it is important that trends in gambling behaviours continue to be monitored in this cohort and the potential link with mental health outcomes, particularly as policy and legislation in this area evolve.

Authors’ contributions

The author, GM, confirms sole responsibility for the conception, design, data analysis, interpretation, drafting, and critical revision of the manuscript.

Funding

This research is part funded by the Economic and Social Research Institute's Grant-in-Aid funding provided the Government of Ireland and the Institute's Electronic Communication Research Programme, funded by the Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) and the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport.

Data availability

Growing Up in Ireland datasets are made available to researchers on a confidential and anonymised basis through the Irish Social Sciences Data Archive. These files are known as Anonymised Microdata Files (AMFs). More detailed, anonymous files, accessible under strictly controlled conditions, may be obtained by researchers upon application to the Irish Central Statistics Office (CSO). These files are known as Researcher Microdata Files (RMFs), and applications can be made through the CSO. https://www.cso.ie/en/aboutus/lgdp/csodatapolicies/dataforresearchers/rmfregister/. The CSO does not take any responsibility for the views expressed or the outputs generated from this research.

Declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

As this paper involves analysis of anonymised secondary data, which is publicly available, ethics approval was not required. Ethical approval for data collection for waves 3 and 4 of the Growing Up in Ireland project was granted by a dedicated and independent Research Ethics Committee convened by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in Ireland, specifically for the Growing Up in Ireland project.

Consent for publication

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing interests.