NSW Longitudinal Youth Gambling Study 2024

About the study

This longitudinal research provides insight into patterns of youth gambling over time, such as stable trajectories of non-gambling, consistent gambling over time and progression into harmful gambling. It is the first longitudinal gambling research conducted with young people in NSW, and the first research to examine transitions when young people in NSW turn 18 and can legally gamble.

The study draws on surveys of a group of 229 young people carried out in 2020 and in 2024 to explore the nature and the extent of changes in their gambling. It also reports on interviews with 50 young adults to understand changes in gambling behaviour specifically as people turn 18. The findings highlight the importance of preventative measures from childhood through adolescence and into early adulthood to reduce gambling harm among young people in NSW.

The methodology

• A systematic review of existing longitudinal youth gambling research published between 1995 and 2024.
• A two-wave survey of 229 young people in 2020 when all were aged 12-17 years and then again in 2024 when most were aged 16-21 years.
• Qualitative interviews with 50 people aged 18-23 living in NSW.

Key findings

• Overall, more survey participants moved into gambling than moved away from it.
• Nearly half (44%) of the survey participants engaged in simulated gambling only (non-monetary gambling) in 2020 as adolescents. By 2024, two-fifths (40%) of these participants had transitioned into monetary gambling, including 6% who had moved into at-risk/problem gambling.
• In both 2020 and 2024 about 13% of participants reported at-risk or problem gambling. Notably, 70% of those who reported problems in 2020 also reported them in 2024.
• The qualitative study found that many participants who didn’t gamble recalled early family environments where gambling was either absent or low stakes, with parents often cautioning them about gambling.
• In contrast, the participants experiencing at-risk/problem gambling had been regularly exposed to gambling from an early age, mostly through family activities. Legal access at 18 marked a turning point when gambling escalated substantially.
• The study's qualitative analysis reveals that early exposure to pro-gambling influences such as parental and peer behaviours, advertising, product accessibility, and simulated gambling can establish a foundation for gambling problems and harm in later years. This risk intensifies as individuals turn 18, often leading to an escalation in gambling activities.

Suggested citation

Hing, N., Lole, L., Dellosa, G., Tulloch, C., Browne, M., Russell, A. M. T., and Rockloff, M. (2025). NSW Longitudinal Youth Gambling Study. Sydney: Office of Responsible Gambling.