Online gambling among young people in Ireland on the rise
Research ahead of regulatory change in the market finds gambling activity quadruples between ages of 17 and 20
A new study has found that online gambling among young people in Ireland quadruples in the space of three years between the ages of 17 and 18 to 20.
The study, conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), surveyed 4,500 young people regarding their gambling habits when they were 17-18 in 2015-16 and then again when they were aged 20 in 2018-19.
At 20 years old, 9.3% of people were gambling, up from 2.6% at 17 years old, with a significant increase in young men, rising from 4.4% to 15.8%.
The female sample saw a much smaller comparative increase, jumping from 0.9% to 2.9% between the two ages.
However, around one in 10 men aged 20 stated that they gambled regularly, with the study defining regular gambling as gambling at least once a month. Just 2.7% of women aged 20 were recorded as regular gamblers.
The study also found that if a young person plays a team sport at both 17 and 20, they are almost three times more likely to gamble regularly compared to those who don’t.
The study found that participation in team sports had a visible impact on the amount of online and regular gambling, especially among young men.
The report stated: “The findings of the empirical analysis provide support for the theory that the social norms that develop within the young male adult sports team environment may play a role in generating increased gambling behaviour among team members.
“As such, team and sports environments also provide suitable forums for which gambling awareness and behaviours can be discussed and addressed.
“The findings provide evidence to inform the development of policies and legislation in the area of online and regular gambling, and its links to young people and sports participation.”
The release of the data comes just over a month since the Irish government approved legislation that will bring wide-ranging changes to the country.
The new legislation will see the creation of the Gambling Regulatory Authority, which will be fronted by senior civil servant Anne Marie Caulfield.
Operators have welcomed the new bill, with Flutter describing the new legislation as a “critical milestone”, while chairman Ian Proctor stated that the operator will work constructively with the aforementioned regulator.