Many more young people than adults have a gambling problem, according to the first comprehensive analysis of gambling addiction in the United States and Canada, done by researchers at Harvard. In 1997, as many as 11.1 million adolescents in the two countries were addicted to gambling, compared to a maximum of 9.6 million adults, the study estimates. When those with less severe gambling problems are added, the total is much higher. In this group, adolescents outnumber adults five to one, by one measure.
Men are more likely to be addicted gamblers than women.
Those with other psychiatric and substance abuse problems have the highest rates of disordered gambling, about nine times greater than those in the general population. The steep rise corresponds to the dramatic growth in legalized gambling in the U.S. and Canada, including everything from casinos and lotteries to church bingo games. Gambling Tied to Other Problems To prepare the report, Shaffer worked with Matthew Hall and Joni Vander Bilt, research associates at the Medical School s Division of Addiction, which Shaffer heads. They analyzed 120 studies of disordered-gambling prevalence that were published between 1977 and 1997. Also, we found no increase among adults who were being treated for mental illness or substance abuse.