Abstract
Internet gambling has become a popular activity among some youth. Vulnerable youth may be particularly at risk due to limited harm reduction and enforcement measures. This article explores age restrictions and other harm reduction measures relating to youth and young adult online gambling. A systematic rapid review was conducted by searching eight databases. Additional articles on online gambling (e.g., from references) were later included. To place this perspective into context, articles on adult gambling, land-based gambling, and substance use and other problematic behaviors were also considered. Several studies show promising findings for legally restricting youth from gambling in that such restrictions may reduce the amount of youth gambling and gambling-related harms. However, simply labeling an activity as “age-restricted” may not deter youth from gambling; in some instances, it may generate increased appeal for gambling. Therefore, advertising and warning labels should be examined in conjunction with age restrictions. Recommendations for age enforcement strategies, advertising, education, and warning labels are made to help multiple stakeholders including policymakers and public health officials internationally. Age restrictions in online gambling should consider multiple populations including youth and young adults. Prevention and harm reduction in gambling should examine how age-restriction strategies may affect problem gambling and how they may be best enforced across gambling platforms. More research is needed to protect youth with respect to online gambling.
Highlights
People with gambling problems typically meet criteria for hazardous gambling, betting or gambling disorder in the International Classification of Diseases, 11th edition [1, 2]
The Conceptual Framework of Harmful Gambling proposed that the definition of harmful gambling is, “any type of repetitive gambling that a person engages in that leads to recurring negative consequences, such as significant financial problems, addiction, or physical and mental health issues.” p. 4 [9]
Youth and young adults may be susceptible to problem-gambling-related harms, especially to online gambling since it is often fast-paced and accessible [6, 14, 15]
Summary
People with gambling problems typically meet criteria for hazardous gambling, betting or gambling disorder in the International Classification of Diseases, 11th edition [1, 2]. Youth and young adults may be susceptible to problem-gambling-related harms, especially to online gambling since it is often fast-paced and accessible [6, 14, 15]. Limited or no age restrictions for online games such as freeto-play slot machines may allow youth early opportunities to engage in gambling-like activities that may lead to gambling problems [16]. A convergence between gambling and videogaming platforms may facilitate behavioral involvement across networks and consoles, providing robust access to gambling-like activities [21]. To understand how best to use age restrictions and other harmreduction measures for online gambling and videogaming in preventing or minimizing online-gambling-related harms
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