5, 2015), research is showing variations in the volume and activity of certain areas of the brain related to learning, stress management, and rewards processing that might contribute to problematic gambling.
J., et al., Nature Reviews Neuroscience, Vol. Counter to simplistic assumptions about the role that the neurotransmitter dopamine plays in addictions ( Nutt, D. Researchers are now working to refine their understanding of the psychological principles that underlie the drive to gamble and the neurological underpinnings of what happens in the brains of gamblers who struggle to stop. Starting young carries a relatively high burden of psychological distress and increased chances of developing problems. Nearly two-thirds of adolescents, ages 12 to 18, said they had gambled or played gambling-like games in the previous year, according to a 2018 Canadian survey of more than 38,000 youth funded by the government of British Columbia ( Understanding the Odds, McCreary Centre Society, 2021 ). And many kids are starting younger than that. People in their early 20s are the fastest-growing group of gamblers, according to recent research.
And while it is still too soon to know what the long-term effects will be, evidence is growing to suggest that young people, especially boys and men, are among those particularly vulnerable to gambling addiction-the same demographic most often participating in the newest forms of gambling: sports betting and video game-based gambling. People can gamble around the clock from anywhere and, increasingly, at many ages, including teenagers and even young children who are well below the legal age for gambling.Īs access to gambling has expanded, psychologists and other experts have become concerned not just that more people will give it a try, but that more will develop gambling problems. Sports betting is now legal in 37 states plus Washington, DC, with six more considering legislation, according to American Gaming Association data from early 2023. Once confined mostly to casinos concentrated in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, gambling has expanded to include ready access to lotteries and online games and video games with gambling elements for adults and children.
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