Spanish law provides that only people over 18 can participate in betting and games of chance. However, minors play lotteries, football pools and instant lotteries, which are forms of gambling that are strongly consolidated culturally in our society and readily accessible, as control over participation is seldom strict. More recently, online gambling has become one of the most highly promoted types of betting for young people and adolescents.

Two consequences of this situation merit special attention. First, a significant percentage of underage adolescents (28.9%) gamble regularly, and considering that gambling is potentially addictive, this may cause them problems in the future. Second, boys gamble more frequently than girls (only 7.7% of the latter do so regularly), which highlights the need to take this difference into account when taking preventive measures.

Sports betting is the most frequent type of online gambling among boys and girls alike, although the gender difference is again very large. The above figures refer to adolescents who have gambled on some occasion, but these results are repeated in the same proportion when analysing regular gamblers (several times a month). The most frequent type of regular gambling is sports betting. Twenty percent of male adolescents gamble regularly (several times a month).

Although sports betting is a form of online gambling, it can also be practised in public places on machines installed in arcades, betting shops and bars.

Law 13/2011 regulating gambling legalised online gambling in Spain. From then on, games such as online poker, roulette, slot machines and sports betting over the internet were authorised and promoted by companies in the sector. Sports betting, presented as the modern form of football pools, have become one of the most popular types of gambling for young people and adolescents, who have “discovered” a new leisure activity in them. Going to betting shops, amusement arcades and bars to make a few bets is a new form of socialisation and hanging out. Some even think they can make money doing that.

Gambling addiction is a mental disorder caused by betting and gambling, and is considered as such by scientific associations and the WHO. It is characterised by the need to place larger and larger stakes, distress when unable to continue gambling and lack of behavioural control, among other clinical criteria. It has serious consequences for both personal adjustment and social or family relationships. However, before reaching the extreme of causing such a serious health disorder, gambling causes the onset of subclinical problems, i.e., alterations of behaviour or emotional regulation that do not fall into the category of a mental disorder but are nevertheless dysfunctional and cause distress. One of the most significant is at-risk gambling, which can be considered as the forerunner of gambling addiction.

Adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the development of addictions, so the promotion of online gambling by companies in the sector through advertising and marketing strategies results in an increase in the incidence of gambling addiction in society. It is estimated that the prevalence of gambling addiction in mi-nors is double or even triple that of the general population (people aged 18-65).

As is the case with the frequency of gambling, the prevalence of gambling addiction is greater in boys than in girls.

There is quite a wide range of gambling types available in Spain. Traditional gambling (lotteries, bingo, slot machines, etc.) has recently been reinforced by online gambling. Although all gambling constitutes a potential health hazard owing to its addictive potential, there are notable differences between different types. Within traditional gambling, slot machines are the most addictive type (and also that which moves most money: approximately €12 billion) because they are easy to play, they are widely distributed in bars and arcades, it is possible to bet both small and large amounts of money, games are quick, and rewards are immediate. For its part, electronic gambling machines have all the elements to be highly addictive (Parke and Griffiths, 2006).

As regards online gambling, all types are more addictive than their corresponding traditional ones, owing to the fact that they are much more easily accessible and more available for the gambler (Chóliz, Marcos and Lázaro-Mateo, 2019). Bets can be placed from anywhere at any time by means of mobiles or personal electronic devices, and it is possible to gamble both in public places (in betting shops, for example) and in the privacy of one’s home. There is a much broader range of types of game, which can moreover be played quickly and continuously. According to data supplied by the Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling, in 2019 the Spanish spent more than €20 billion on online gambling, which represents over 40% of all gambling expenditure. Furthermore, it is the only type of gambling to have grown (and spectacu-larly so) after the measures imposed to prevent the spread of the covid pandemic. This growth has been very notable in online slot machines, which in our opinion will probably become the most harmful form of gambling in years to come.

Many people who have an addiction problem also suffer from other mental disorders or other addictions. This is known as comorbidity between addictions, and is quite common among drug addictions.

The coexistence of gambling addiction and substance use is very frequent. Thus, whereas only 14% of people who are not addicted to gambling consume alcohol every week, the percentage rises to 41% among those who suffer from gambling addiction. This pattern is repeated with consumption of tobacco and marihuana: whereas 13% and 7% of those who are not addicted to gambling consume these substances respectively, the percentages rise to 39% and 35% among gambling addicts.

In addition to gambling addiction, there are other behavioural addictions such as addiction to video games and communication technologies (mobile and social media). Among these, video game addiction can develop into a mental disorder, and is regarded as such by the WHO in ICD-11, the latest revision of the International Classification of Diseases developed by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2020).

Regarding comorbidity between gambling and technology addictions, the results obtained are reflected in the figure about mobile, social media and video game addiction among adolescents addicted to gambling.

Unlike what we find with drug addictions, comorbidity between addiction to gambling and to video games or technologies is low, probably because gambling addiction corners all the addict’s resources, and betting becomes the driving force of his or her life.

Betting and games of chance represent a major economic activity that is fostered by companies in the sector and some administrations. However, both the scientific community and the health authorities consider that gambling is a public health problem, as it causes an addictive disorder. The range of legal gambling options available in Spain is one of the widest in the world and the socio-political conditions are highly conducive to its expansion in society. Since its legalisation in 2011, online gambling has grown exponentially and its expansion has been particularly significant since the introduction of the measures to prevent the spread of covid.

Although there are individual and social differences in the degree of vulnerability to gambling addiction, the main explanatory variable for the development of this disorder is past experience with gambling. In this respect, the characteristics of the games (Parke and Griffiths, 2006) and the degree of exposure to them (Chóliz et al., 2019) are two of the main variables to take into account. As in the case of drug addic-tions, the presence of other psychological problems is the rule rather than the exception.

Considering that adolescence is a developmental period that is especially vulnerable to any addiction (Chambers et al. 2003), including gambling addiction, and that the prevalence of this disorder among young people is three times that found in the general population, the main conclusions of this study are as follows.

Although gambling is a public health problem due to its addictive potential, not all types of gambling are equally dangerous. Lotteries are less addictive than slot machines and casino games, for example.

The conditions in which games of chance are presented modulate their addictive potential. In this case, the online mode of any game poses a greater risk than its traditional form. Boys are at greater risk of suffering from gambling addiction than girls, as they are more exposed to games of all sorts, probably for reasons of gender. Playing games is a male way of having fun, and it is essentially a competitive activity.

There is comorbidity between gambling addiction and the use of substances (alcohol, tobacco and marihuana), perhaps because drugs boost the psychological effects of gambling and help to overcome distress.

Comorbidity with technology addictions is less notable, possibly because there is competition between the psychological processes involved in the two types of addiction. Gambling becomes the sufferer’s main obsession and concern, above any other activity.

The results of this work, which highlight the problem of gambling addiction in adolescents, suggest the need to develop and implement evidence-based gambling addiction prevention programmes such as the Ludens prevention programme (Chóliz, 2017).

CHAMBERS, R.A., J.R. TAYLOR, and M.N. POTENZA (2003): “Developmental neurocircuitry of motivation in adolescence: A critical period of addiction vulnerability”, American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(6).

CHÓLIZ, M. (2017): Ludens: programa de prevención de la adicción al juego, Valencia: Psylicom.

CHÓLIZ, M., and M. MARCOS (2019): “La epidemia de la adicción al juego online en la adolescencia: un estudio empírico del trastorno de juego”. Revista Española de Drogodependencias, 44.

CHÓLIZ, M., M. MARCOS, and J. LÁZARO-MATEO (2019): “The risk of online gambling: A study of gam-bling disorder prevalence rates in Spain”, International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction.

PARKE, J., and M. GRIFFITHS (2006): “The psychology of the fruit machine: the role of structural cha-racteristics (revisited)”, International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 4(2).

WHO (2020): International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-11).