Online Gambling, Video Games & Your Child: From Pay to Play
No. 147; June 2026
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Key Takeaways
- Teens are especially vulnerable - Online gambling is easy to access through apps, games, and sports betting, and teens’ developing brains make them more likely to take risks or lose control.
- It can impact mental health and behavior - Gambling can lead to addiction, mood changes, secrecy, financial losses, and problems at school or home.
- Parents can make a big difference - Talking openly, monitoring online activity, and setting clear limits can help prevent gambling problems before they start.
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Most parents know to worry about a teen spending money on a sports betting app. However, many of today’s youth gamble in a way that often looks nothing like a casino. It looks like buying a loot box in a video game, purchasing gaming currency to spend on a chance for virtual rewards, or betting on an election through a prediction market app. All of these involve spending money without knowing what you will get, also known as gambling.
While many teens may place the occasional bet without long-term harm, some become obsessed and lose control of their gambling. The teen brain is still developing. The parts that control urges and think about risks are not fully mature until the mid-20s. That means teens are more likely to developing gambling addictions than people who first try gambling as adults. More than two-thirds of adult problem gamblers say their gambling started when they were young.
Teen boys are more likely to gamble than girls, and teens typically gamble online. Most families do not find out their child is gambling until they discover unexplained costs on their credit card statement.
What Is Gambling Disorder?
Most children and teens who try gambling do not develop a problem. For some, what starts as fun becomes a habit they cannot control. That is when gambling becomes a disorder.
Gambling disorder is a recognized condition, similar to an addiction to drugs or alcohol. It is not a matter of willpower. A child or teen may have gambling disorder if several of these signs show up in one year:
- Needing to gamble with more money to feel the same thrill
- Trying to cut back or stop but not being able to
- Feeling irritable or restless when unable to gamble
- Gambling to escape stress, boredom or unhappiness
- Gambling more after a loss to try to win the money back (i.e., "chasing losses")
- Lying about how much money is lost gambling
- Falling behind at school, fighting with parents, or losing touch with friends because of gambling
- Stealing money to gamble
Children and teens with ADHD, Depression, Anxiety, and/or drug use are at higher risk to develop gambling disorders. It can be harder for them to stop when a reward feels close.
It Starts Earlier Than You Think
For younger children, gambling often starts inside a video game. Loot boxes, card packs and randomized in-game purchases offer a chance at a rare item. Kids spend money and do not know what they will get in return. Offline, “blind boxes” sold as collectibles work the same way. Children often do not see these as gambling, but the appeal is the same.
Many free games are built to hook players first. Early on, rewards occur easily and often. Once players are really into the game, rewards are harder to come by, and players may be tempted to spend money for randomized chances to win rare game items. The path from free play to paid gambling is built into the product, and one of the main ways online games make money.
Older teens are more likely to use sports betting apps, online casinos or fantasy sports with cash prizes. More teens are also using prediction markets, apps where users bet real money on things like celebrity behavior, e-sports results or other news. Some prediction market apps use digital currencies like Bitcoin or are based outside the country to make it easy for minors to sign up. The money to gamble frequently comes from a parent’s credit card, often used without the parent’s knowledge.
Warning Signs
Children and teens with gambling problems may show:
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Charges on family accounts they cannot explain
- Asking for a debit or credit card for no clear reason
- Unexplained cash or purchases
Increased screen time they get defensive about
- Pulling away from friends, sports or activities they used to enjoy
- Sleep problems from staying up late on screens
- Reactions that seem too big for a sports score or news event
- A new fixation on gambling talk, or stats for a sport they never cared about before
- Dropping grades or missing school
- Lying about spending or screen time
- Sneaking smartphones, tablets, or computers into places where they are not allowed
- Friends, teachers or other parents raising concerns
What Families Can Do
Model healthy relationships with gambling and screens. How adults talk about gambling matters. Treating sports betting or lottery tickets as harmless or glamorizing big wins can encourage children to gamble.
- Know what your child is doing online. Ask about in-game purchases, gambling games, and betting apps
- Encourage a healthy balance of offline activities and hobbies
- Talk to your children about gambling before a problem starts
- Explain the dangers of loot boxes, blind boxes, and betting apps
- Set clear rules about video games with loot boxes, other gambling activities and spending money online
- Set financial guardrails on every device
- Require approval for in-app purchases
- Set spending limits on gaming accounts
- Remove saved payment information from consoles, smartphones, tablets, and gaming accounts your child uses.
When to Seek Help
Bring your child to a child and adolescent psychiatrist if talking about it has not helped, or if you see any of the following:
- Grades dropping and not getting better
- No longer caring about friends, sports or things they used to love
- Big mood swings, especially after time online or around sports events
- Repeatedly lying or stealing
- Signs of hopelessness, shame or thoughts of self-harm
Gambling disorder can cause serious harm. When a young person loses a lot of money or feels deep shame, the risk of suicidal thinking goes up. Gambling problems can lead to or worsening depression, as well as addiction to drugs or alcohol.
How a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Can Help
A child and adolescent psychiatrist can determine if your child has a problem gambling, look for related conditions and build a treatment plan to address them. They may prescribe medications or perform individual therapy. Counselling helps children and teens spot the thinking that drives out-of-control gambling and build skills to stop it. Family therapy can also be helpful. Medications may treat related conditions like ADHD or depression.
If you need more information:
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