Epidemiology of youth gambling problems in Canada: a national prevalence study

To describe the epidemiology of gambling problems among youth aged 15 to 24 years in Canada and to examine whether these gambling prevalence patterns differ by sex and (or) by geographic region.

We used data from The Canadian Community Health Survey: Mental Health and Well-Being. Gambling problems were determined according to the Canadian Problem Gambling Index. All prevalence estimates used appropriate sampling weights and bootstrap variance estimation procedures developed by Statistics Canada. Multivariate logistic regression modelling was also employed to supplement the above prevalence comparisons by age, sex, and region.

Among Canadian youth aged 15 to 24 years (n=5666), 61.35% gambled in the past 12 months and the national prevalence of moderate-risk or problem gambling was 2.22% (3.30% in male respondents and 1.10% in female respondents). Male respondents had significantly higher prevalence of gambling problems than female respondents. Regional prevalence estimates of youth moderate-risk or problem gambling were 1.37% in British Columbia, 2.17% in the Prairie provinces, 2.75% in Ontario, 2.12% in Quebec, and 1.71% in the Atlantic provinces.

Youth, particularly young men, are at greater risk for gambling problems than adults. More prevention and research efforts are also needed to address the observed sex differences and interregional variability in the prevalence of gambling problems among youth. The national prevalence estimates from this study provide important baseline data against which future cohorts of Canadians can be monitored and measured.