Study finds these games can be gateway to gambling for teens

By Stephen Beech

Teenagers who play video games with "gambling-like" elements are more likely to start real betting, warns new research.

Gaming habits can form a gateway to problem gambling - with youngsters exposed to prize wheels and loot boxes more likely to wager with real money a year later, according to the study.

Researchers in Belgium quizzed more than 2,000 young gamers twice, with a year gap in-between.

When the follow-up surveys were conducted, it was shown that those who engage in games with gambling-like elements were more likely to then gamble with real money than those who didn't.

The researchers say their findings, published in the journal International Gambling Studies , show that teenagers need to be protected from the risk by updated regulations and information ca