Gambling advertising and gambling behavior in Spanish adolescents and young adults.

Abstract

The profits obtained by the gambling industry in Spain represent almost one point of GDP and the proportion of minors who have gambled has reached a quarter. This situation occurs despite the law regulating gambling, which included among its objectives the prevention of addictive behaviors, as well as the protection of minors and other vulnerable groups. Recently, an additional regulation was approved to control gambling advertising. Bearing in mind the new regulatory context, we analyze the relationship between advertising and gambling in adolescents and young adults, studying especially young people who have already gambled and minors. We conducted an empirical investigation with a sample of 2,181 adolescents and young adults who filled out a questionnaire on gambling and advertising. We found that the variables associated with advertising are significantly related to gambling behavior and that, in addition, this correlation occurs with greater magnitude in men. We obtained higher scores in advertising influence among those subjects who have ever gambled compared to those who have not, highlighting the importance of discouraging the arrival of new gamblers. Regarding minors, we found significant differences in the different variables of advertising influence compared to young adults. These findings point to the need to evaluate this influence considering the new habits and interests of minors today.