Welcome to the Global Research Hub on Gambling in Emerging Adults
Emerging adulthood is one of the most dynamic and complicated periods of life. It is a time of exploration, independence, identity-building and increasingly, a time shaped by rapid digital change. As smartphones, online gaming, sports betting, and social media blend into everyday life, young adults across the world are encountering gambling in ways no previous generation has.
This hub brings together the most important research from around the world to help you understand how and why gambling has become so woven into the lives of 18–25-year-olds and what we can do about it.
Across different sections, we explore not just the “numbers,” but the stories behind the numbers: the psychological mechanisms, cultural forces, digital designs, inequalities, and policy decisions that shape young people’s experiences.
Each section answers a different part of the bigger question:
Why does gambling look the way it does for today’s emerging adults?
Explore the Research Hub
Gambling Among University Students in Uganda (Nsereko et al., 2023)
Annual Research Review: Emergence of Problem Gambling from Childhood to Emerging Adulthood (Richard & King, 2023)
Socio-Demographics, Gambling Participation, Gambling Settings, and Addictive Behaviors Associated with Gambling Modes (Lind et al., 2022)
Life Satisfaction and Online-Gambling Communities: A Cross-National Study of Gambling Activities Among Young Finnish, American, South Korean and Spanish People (Koivula et al., 2022)
Problem Gambling in Early Adulthood: A Population-Based Study (Emond et al., 2022)
Relationships Between Socio-Economic Status and Lottery Gambling Across Lottery Types (Fu et al., 2021)
Loot Boxes, Gambling, and Problem Gambling Among Young People (Wardle & Zendle, 2021)
Social Ecological Model of Problem Gambling: A Cross-National Survey Study of Young People (Oksanen et al., 2021)
Attitudes Toward Gambling in Young People: A Cross-National Study (Delfabbro et al., 2021)
Problem Gambling, Gambling Involvement, Gambling Intensity, and Gambling Formats: Evidence from Massachusetts Population Data (Mazar et al., 2020)
Gambling Among Adolescents and Emerging Adults: A Cross-Cultural Study Between Portuguese and English Youth (Calado, Alexandre, & Griffiths, 2020)
Gambling Behavior of Ethnic Chinese and Vietnamese Emerging Adults in the United States (Wong & Wu, 2020)
Emerging adults and college students face increased risk of gambling, especially online. Social, emotional, and financial factors raise their vulnerability. Help us understand this issue by sharing the survey.
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