A recent study found that 46.2% of adults worldwide engaged in gambling activities in the past 12 months, with the highest rates of problematic gambling linked to online casinos and slot machines.
A systematic review and meta-analysis, published in The Lancet Public Health, evaluated the global prevalence of gambling and problematic gambling among adults and adolescents. The researchers conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature published between January 1, 2010, and March 4, 2024, focusing on gambling prevalence data. The analysis incorporated 380 representative samples from 68 countries, including data on 3,441,720 individuals. The average age of participants in the included samples was 29.72 years.
The study estimated that 71.7 million adults globally (95% CI 53.8-93.3 million) engaged in problematic gambling in the past 12 months.
In the past year, 46.2% of adults and 17.9% of adolescents reported engaging in gambling activities, with a higher prevalence among men (49.1%) compared to women (37.4%). Among adults, 8.7% engaged in risk gambling, and 1.41% were identified as problematic gamblers, with the highest rates of problematic gambling (15.8%) occurring among those participating in online casino or slot gambling.
Regional differences were notable. Adult gambling rates were highest in Australasia (70.0%) and North America (61.3%), and lowest in Latin America (31.7%). North America had the highest prevalence of risk gambling (13.8%) and East and Southeast Asia the lowest (5.9%). Eastern Europe (21.9%) and North America (20.6%) had the highest estimates of risk gambling among those who gambled.
Data on adolescent risk and problematic gambling is limited, but North America reported a higher prevalence of problematic gambling among adolescents at 10.4%. The study found that 49.1% of men and 37.4% of women reported gambling. Additionally, 11.9% of men were identified as engaging in problematic gambling, compared to 5.5% of women.
The most common gambling activity among adults was purchasing lottery or raffle tickets (44.7%), while 11.0% of adolescents participated in this activity. Additionally, 13.2% of adolescents engaged in instant lottery or win games.
The study revealed an increasing trend in online gambling, with prevalence rising from 5.5% before 2016 to 10.0% in studies conducted after 2020.
The authors note limitations in available data, with only 67 countries and territories reporting gambling estimates, indicating significant gaps in global monitoring of gambling behaviors.
The findings indicated a global prevalence of gambling and problematic gambling, with higher rates associated with online gambling.
Full disclosures can be found in the published study.