Teen Gambling Fell in Spain, but Some Gaming and Esports Groups Bucked the Trend

Across the Spanish sample, gambling was less common in 2021 than it had been in 2019. Several groups connected to video games and esports moved in the opposite direction.

The finding comes from a 2026 paper using survey data from 60,331 students aged 14 to 18. It is a large study, but it does not show that gaming caused the change.

2019 to 2021

Researchers used the Spanish ESTUDES school survey and looked at gambling alongside four gaming measures: playing video games, watching esports, taking part in esports and meeting the study measure for internet gaming disorder.

Between the two survey waves, gambling rose by:

• 2.4 percentage points among video game players
• 1.3 percentage points among esports spectators
• 1.8 percentage points among esports participants
• 1 percentage point among those meeting the study measure for internet gaming disorder

The authors reported all four increases as statistically significant.

Across all students in the sample, gambling still fell. The rises above were confined to particular groups.

The adjusted model

The paper also looked at characteristics associated with gambling after adjusting for other measured factors.

Older age and being male were both linked with higher odds of gambling. Esports participation had an odds ratio of 1.46. Meeting the study measure for internet gaming disorder had an odds ratio of 1.45.

Those figures describe relative odds in the model. They do not mean that 46% or 45% of those groups gambled.

The order of events is unknown. Gaming may have come first, gambling may have come first, or other factors may have affected both.

The paper reported differences by gender too. Boys had much higher odds of gambling overall. Among girls, gaming and esports measures appeared among the factors associated with higher gambling risk.

Gaming, betting and virtual items

A video game is not automatically a gambling product, but gambling can sit around gaming and esports.

Betting discussion and gambling promotion can appear around matches, streams and creators. Some games sell random rewards or virtual items that can be traded. Some external betting sites also accept virtual items.

The Gambling Commission separates these activities in its research with young people in Great Britain. Buying virtual items, opening random reward boxes and betting with in-game items are measured as different things.

Competition, social circles, spending habits and attitudes to risk may all help explain why gaming and gambling appear together in the data. This study cannot isolate one explanation.

When gambling is the concern

An interest in games or esports is not, by itself, a sign of gambling harm.

Unexplained payments, borrowing money to continue, trying to recover losses, hidden accounts or spending, and gambling that starts to affect sleep, school, work or relationships are more relevant.

Our guide to recognising gambling harm covers these signs in more detail and sets out UK support routes.

Parents, carers and schools may also want to understand how money moves through the games and communities a young person uses. Are paid rewards random? Can items be sold for cash? Is gambling promoted around the content? Who can see payments on the account?

Study limits

Each survey wave captured a point in time. The study cannot establish cause or sequence.

The measures were self-reported, so memory and willingness to disclose behaviour may have affected the answers. The data also came from Spain and covered 2019 and 2021. It should not be used as a current British prevalence estimate.

Gambling fell overall, but not in every subgroup. The data gives a reason to keep studying those differences. It does not support the claim that gaming makes teenagers gamble.

This article was reviewed by the GamRight editorial team on 21 August 2026. It summarises population research and does not diagnose internet gaming disorder or gambling harm. Please use our contact page to report a factual error or request a correction.