Young men who participate in sports and fantasy sports gambling are at a higher risk of developing problem gambling behaviours, a new study by The Kids Research Institute Australia has found.
Higher levels of depression in young men aged 18-25 years were also linked to higher levels of problem gambling in the research, which used data from Australia’s most extensive and longest-running study on male health, the Ten to Men Study.
Lead author and The Kids Senior Research Fellow Dr Vincent Mancini said the findings highlighted the need for more support for young men.
“We know young men especially, are more susceptible to forms of gambling that feature a skill-based component like sport and fantasy sport gambling, but they’re also less likely to seek help because of factors including stigma around men’s mental health,” Dr Mancini said.
“Our findings highlight the potential generational and gender differences in gambling behaviours that might be obscured when studies look at population-level risk factors.”
“We know that young men gamble differently to other groups, and the way that sports gambling leverages the interests of young men can place them at greater risk of falling into patterns of problematic gambling behaviour. To start implementing effective strategies to support young males before gambling starts to create social, psychological, and financial problems, we need to meet them where they are.”
Conversely, the study showed that psychosocial factors like trying to appear masculine, health-related behaviours like problem alcohol use, and gambling-related behaviours like visiting the casino did not predict further likelihood of future problem gambling.
Dr Mancini also recently met with the federal member for Curtin, MP Kate Chaney, to discuss his research.
According to 2023 data from the Australian Institute of Health & Welfare, gambling losses in Australia are among the highest per capita in the world, with $25 billion forgone annually (about $1200 per Australian adult). These losses are more likely to impact men, with 53 per cent of male gamblers classified as ‘at-risk’ for gambling-related harm, compared to 38 per cent of female gamblers.
The paper, which you can read in full here, follows Dr Mancini’s findings from earlier this year that increased gambling frequency and lower rates of perceived support were the greatest predictors of future problem gambling severity in men aged 20-62. That paper did not examine whether engaging in different ‘types’ of gambling impacted how likely respondents were to develop problem gambling behaviours in the future.
This project included co-investigators from the University of Sydney, University of Melbourne, and the Movember Institute of Men’s Health. It received funding from Embrace at The Kids Research Institute Australia.