Past-year and lifetime prevalence 1.14% and 1.6% respectively in adults.
An estimated 80 million adults, globally, experience gambling disorder, or problematic gambling.
Gambling expansion has occurred due to the legalization of sports betting, the ubiquity of gambling related marketing, advertising, celebrity endorsement, and the rise of gambling adjacent activities, such as cryptocurrency trading, betting in prediction markets, and daytrading all creating increased opportunities for engaging in risky behavior.
The greater availability of gambling activities will lead to increases in gambling and, in turn, to gambling related problems, arranging from subcritical harm to clinically diagnose gambling disorder.
Associated problems include financial distress, damaged relationships, and poor health outcomes.
In 2025 there was an estimated 57% of adults engaged in legal gambling activities during the previous year.
It is estimated that gambling disorders could affect about 16% of adults and 26% of adolescents who use online casino or slot products and about 9% of adults and 16% of adolescents who participate in sports betting.
Pathological gambling-at-risk populations-adolescents, adults with substance abuse and individuals in a gambling venue have much higher prevalence rates.
Most people with gambling related problems, have at least one coexistent condition, such as depression, mania, or alcohol dependence.
Gambling related problems are associated with suicide ideation, and suicide attempts.
Two forms of social disconnection are often implicated in suicidality: perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness, and these partially account for the link between problem gambling and suicidal tendencies.
There’s a greater risk of developing problems from gambling in young people and children who are increasingly exposed to gambling advertising and people who are less able to afford their losses.
Is estimated that one and 10 adolescents have gambled online.
High-risk groups include males, blacks, individuals with a family history and individuals of lower socioeconomic status.
Problem gambling is seen as a less busy or form of a gambling disorder.
Has been linked to the dopamine agonist treatment, including pramipexole, ropinirole, cabergoline, or bromocriptine.
Rarely is this associated with carbidopadopa/levodopa monotherapy.
Prevalence varies worldwide with rates of pathological gambling in the US ranging from 0.42 1.1% of adults, 1 to 2% identified as problem gamblers (Toce-Gerstein M et al).