“Today we bring the data from the ESPAD 2023 study for the first time, but with a new twist, we will only talk about minors. The objective is to understand how widespread gaming is among individuals for whom it should be prohibited." She said it Sabrina Molinaro (in the photo), Epidemiologist, Research Director of the IFC-CNR Social Epidemiology Laboratory, speaking in Milan at the third stage of the project "The Gambling Trap" promoted by Notice Public and BPER Banca.
“With the arrival of the lockdown, online gaming exploded. Estimates for 2023 tell us that 82 billion euros have been collected through remote gaming, while the total collection should be around 150 billion euros. In Lombardy, regarding physical gaming per capita, it is above the national average, while regarding online gaming, it is below the national average. However, there is an important aspect to consider, the data that comes to us from ADM is linked to proxies. So we don't have the municipality of residence of the person who created the online account, but we do have the municipality of birth. If I had been born in Rome, I would be a Roman player even if I had then moved to another region", added Molinaro.
“It should be noted that when it comes to gaming there is no big difference between being an adult or a minor, the ban on gaming for under 18s doesn't work. The same happens with cigarettes too. All consumption which theoretically should be illegal for minors is not so much prevented. The legislation in this area does not work very well”, highlighted Molinaro.
“Minors play mostly with scratch cards. Then there are important gender differences, betting is mainly done by men, while lotteries and all the games where you are less questioned are preferred by the female sex. Gambling is played almost everywhere and in general it is mostly kids who go to betting shops and arcades where they shouldn't go. In online gaming we reached the highest figure ever, in 2023 as many as 270 thousand students played online, of which 150 thousand were minors. The figure is high, especially because to access online gaming you need an account linked to a tax code and a credit card, which minors are presumed to get from their parents,” explained the epidemiologist.
“Games played online are similar to those played physically, especially in the male genre, and online is also played almost everywhere. About 80% of students know perfectly well that playing both physical and online games is prohibited. Today 4,8% of students present us with a problematic profile for gambling", Molinaro said again.
In the conclusions of his speech, the epidemiologist underlined that "since the pandemic period, online collection has overtaken physical collection, with telematic collection still remaining higher. In 2022 there is a significant increase in national collection equal to 18% more than in 2021. Lombardy is the third region for per capita collection on physical gaming and the first for total collection. Around 1 million students gambled in 300 and almost 2023 thousand were minors. Online gaming is growing, especially played by children. No particular differences are observed either in practice or in gaming patterns between minors and adults. 800 thousand students have a risky gambling profile and 150 thousand problematic ones, with particularly high prevalence among boys. Among minors, there are 120 thousand gamblers with a problem profile. The trend of risky gambling, after the Covid-63 pandemic, has started to grow again. Players with a risk profile play more all games, especially betting. Compared to non-at-risk players, they play three times more online. They have many false beliefs related to gambling and perceive it as not very risky. As the severity of the risk profile increases, satisfaction with interpersonal relationships, with the economic-financial situation of one's family, with one's health and with oneself in general decreases. On the other hand, the consumption of psychoactive substances, excessive alcohol consumption and the use of psychotropic drugs without a medical prescription are increasing. They have parents who exercise limited monitoring and who do not impose behavioral rules. 19 thousand underage students have a risky gambling profile, especially boys. Most high-risk gamblers gamble for at least 280 hours without interruption on non-school days, and 2% play for more than 30 hours. The share of players who spent more than 4 euros in the last month to gamble rises to 50/1 among high-risk gamblers. Compared to non-gamers, they engage in more risky behaviors: they are cyberbullies and report thefts and sales of stolen objects. They consume energy drinks and engage in binge drinking. They have good family relationships but are not satisfied outside the 'home' context. Gambling and gaming seem strongly connected. As one risk profile increases, the other increases. Loot boxes appear to be a real risk, especially among very young people, for the development of gambling-related problems. The identification of the characteristics and factors associated with risky gaming behavior remains crucial to prevent the phenomenon and develop effective policies".
