Nearly Half of US Teens Ages 13 to 17 Say They've Gambled, Survey Finds
More than 4 in 10 American teens ages 13 to 17 say they have gambled in the past year, even though gambling is illegal at their age, according to a new national survey from Rutgers University.
The survey, released Wednesday by the Rutgers Center for Gambling Studies, found that nearly 43% of respondents 17 and under had gambled in the last 12 months. Researchers describe it as the first national gambling prevalence study of U.S. adolescents and young adults in nearly 20 years.
What the Survey Found
Researchers surveyed 1,677 Americans ages 13 to 27 between April and July 2026. Across the full group, 52.5% said they had gambled in the past year.
The study defined gambling broadly, covering 21 activities that ranged from lottery tickets and street games to cryptocurrency trading and prediction markets. Lead author Lia Nower, director of the Rutgers center, described it as "anything where money is wagered."
Scratch-off tickets were the most common form of gambling, followed by bingo and lottery tickets. About 20% of gamblers said they had bet on sports, and just over 6% had placed bets in prediction markets, NBC 7 San Diego reported.
Of those who gambled, nearly 40% showed some signs of problem gambling, and about 10% were classified as high-risk problem gamblers. Among gamblers 17 and under, roughly 11% fell into the high-risk group. Rates of high-risk gambling were similar for boys and girls.
"A Casino or Sportsbook in Their Pocket"
Nower pointed to how easy it has become to place a bet. "We are living in a time where anyone can have a casino or sportsbook in their pocket," she said, according to Casino.org.
"Teens who should be playing sports are betting on them," she added, noting that gambling is "no longer confined to casinos and lottery tickets" and now shows up in video games and sports broadcasts.
Sports betting is legal in 39 states and Washington, D.C., according to the American Gaming Association. Prediction markets, which let users wager on real-world events and have drawn scrutiny over bets on Trump's words, also ran ads during the World Series.
"We have worried this would increase rates of problem gambling among youth. Now we know it does," Nower said.
Family Plays a Big Role
The study found that gambling often starts at home. More than half of respondents ages 13 to 17 said a family or household member gambled, according to World Casino News.
Young people who believed a household member had a gambling problem were more than five times as likely to be high-risk problem gamblers. Those who gambled with a family member were more than four times as likely to be high risk.
Household income also mattered. Nearly 30% of gamblers from households earning under $10,000 a year were considered high risk, compared with about 10% of gamblers overall.
Researchers also found that gamblers were more likely than non-gamblers to report drinking, drug use and excessive social media use. The authors noted these are associations and do not prove that one causes the other.
Nower said problem gambling tends to build over time. People who start young often begin with small bets among friends or family, then bet more often and wager more money. "Gambling has an operant conditioning component that results in some people getting addicted over time," she said.
What Experts Recommend
Nower called the findings "a wake-up call for parents, educators, health professionals and policymakers."
She recommends teaching children about gambling risks starting in middle school, tightening rules on gambling-style products and expanding national support for prevention and treatment.
"We cannot wait until young people reach adulthood to begin addressing gambling-related harm," she said. "Prevention must start earlier, screening must be broader."
For parents and grandparents, the findings are a reminder that habits picked up at home matter. A scratch-off ticket tucked into a birthday card or a friendly family bet on the big game may seem harmless, but researchers say early exposure can shape how children view gambling for years to come.
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