Preliminary results from the study, based on surveys of students aged between 14 and 18 from eleven Catalan high schools, indicate that addiction problems include difficulty controlling behavior, using gambling as an emotional regulator, and failed attempts to quit.
“"Gambling with money starts at age 14, with a clear majority profile of boys living in neighborhoods with a lower socioeconomic level."
Professor José Tomás Mateos García, leader of the research, pointed out that sports betting and online casinos are the types of gambling that generate the most addiction. This trend is exacerbated by the accessibility of online gambling at any time and place.
“"Gambling has increased exponentially in recent years, and the brutal increase in online gambling stands out, whose accessibility at all hours of the day and anywhere causes people to gamble in a completely disproportionate way."
UdL researchers also stressed the need to strengthen pathological gambling prevention policies, especially considering that in the city of Lleida there are betting houses less than 100 meters from some high schools.
In addition to economic and employment consequences (academic dropout), pathological gambling leads to serious mental health problems (anxiety, depression, high suicide risk) and physical issues, such as heart problems. Professor Yolanda López del Hoyo added that up to six people close to the affected individual also suffer the effects.
