Youth gambling addiction concerns

Psychologists in Italy and the United States are raising alarms regarding the rising prevalence of gambling addiction among minors and young adults.

In the Marche region of Italy, Giuseppe Lavenia, president of the Order of Psychologists, has called for increased investment in prevention. Citing 2025 data from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, he noted that approximately 25.4% of students aged 11 to 13 and 23.4% of those aged 14 to 17 engage in gambling, with a subset showing problematic risk profiles. Lavenia advocated for a collaborative approach involving schools, families, and healthcare services to teach the reality of chance.

Similarly, in New York, clinical psychologist Dr. Michael Adler reported a significant increase in gambling disorders among children as young as eleven. He noted that minors often bypass age restrictions using smartphones and parental payment methods. Dr. Adler identified fantasy football leagues as a potential ‘gateway drug’ and highlighted the impact of gambling advertisements during sports broadcasts, noting that underdeveloped impulse control in youth makes these cases particularly difficult to treat.