Online Gambling and Its Prevalence Among Nigerian Medical and Dental Students

With a global rise in online gambling platforms, medical undergraduates are increasingly engaging themselves in gambling as a means of surviving and escaping challenges peculiar to their course of study. The objective of this research was to determine online gambling prevalence among Nigerian medical (MBBS) and dental (BDS) students to gain knowledge and understanding of the factors influencing this behavior. A cross-sectional study design was employed using the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), which recruited medical and dental students from selected medical and dental schools involving all geo-political zones in Nigeria. Descriptive analysis was carried out on the socio-demographic factors, Binary Logistic Regression analysis was done between the various factors affecting online gambling. A total of 403 students from 12 universities completed the study. All analyses were done with statistical significance set at p < 0.05. The mean SOGS score was 1.35 ± 2.49. The overall prevalence of gambling was 40.19%; however, only 10.42% had a possible gambling disorder. Participation in sports betting was significantly associated with gender, age, and with MBBS students at an alpha level < 0.05. Males were more likely to bet on sports than females (8.67%, χ² = 57.79, p < 0.001). Age-wise, betting was highest among those above 30 years (78.57%, χ² = 20.77, p < 0.001). The location of medical school also showed significant variation, with the highest participation in sports betting seen at the University of Calabar and University of Nigeria, Enugu Campus ( χ² = 40.49, p < 0.001). The multivariate analysis result showed significance in respect to the reference with ages 21-25, 26-30, above 30 years (p > z = 0.05, 0.226, 0.004, in respect to reference age 16-20), males (p > z = 0), source of income, Parents/Family, Loans, Scholarships, Government, or third party organizations (p > z = 0.107, 0.164, 0.208), course of study MBBS (p > z = 0.031) respectively. This study found that online gambling is present among Nigerian medical and dental students, with associations observed between gambling behavior and factors such as age, gender, financial dependency, and family history of gambling. Sports betting was the most common form of gambling reported. While most students gambled with relatively small amounts, about 10% of respondents exhibited behaviors consistent with a possible gambling disorder. Awareness of the ills of this habit needs to be heightened and more research is needed on the psychological and physical effects in our population.