Factors associated with social casino gaming among adolescents across game types

Despite the fact that adolescents are avid users of SCGs, and appear to be particularly susceptible to the negative consequences of these games, little is known about the characteristics of adolescent social casino gamers. In fact, studies of the environmental and personal factors associated with SCG play have focused almost exclusively on adult samples [10, 30, 31], and therefore potentially relevant variables specific to younger cohorts have largely been omitted from SCG investigations. Establishing the features that are typical of adolescent social casino gamers is critical to informing targeted intervention strategies, and to identifying at-risk sub-groups within the adolescent population.

In studies of adult samples, researchers have identified a number of factors that are more characteristic of SCG players versus non-players [10, 30]. Specifically, researchers have noted that male SCG players are more likely to engage in competitive SCGs, particularly poker, whereas female SCG players show a preference for online gaming-machine games (e.g., slots), and for gambling games that promote social interactions [10]. These results are in line with studies of online and land-based monetary gambling reported among adults and adolescents [32‐34]. Additionally, adult SCG players are more likely to smoke tobacco on a daily basis, and are more likely to have used illicit drugs in the past 12 months in comparison to individuals who do not use SCGs [10]. Lastly, compared to adults who do not take part in social casino gaming, adults who play SCGs are more likely to be employed full-time, but are also more likely to be unemployed or reliant on a disability pension [10]. Empirical research is needed to determine whether these same characteristics that defines adult SCG users are also applicable to adolescents who take part in social casino gaming.

Although a number of the factors that are characteristic of adult SCG players are also relevant to adolescents, it is plausible that additional characteristics beyond those identified for adults are related to SCG play among adolescents. These additional correlating factors with SCG play are possible, given that adolescents are distinct from adults developmentally, and they exhibit gambling tendencies and preferences that are unique from those of adults [35, 36]. Studies of monetary online gambling among adolescents may provide preliminary insight into the manner in which these potentially overlooked variables are related to social casino gaming, given that SCGs and monetary online gambling games are typically used by individuals with similar sociodemographic profiles [10]. A key factor that may have an impact on SCG use among adolescents is peer and parental transmission of behaviours and attitudes pertinent to gambling [37, 38]. Studies carried out in Canada, the United Kingdom, and Hong Kong have shown that adolescents who have close friends or parents who engage in monetary gambling are more likely to participate in monetary online gambling [15, 39‐41]. This role of close others in explicitly or tacitly encouraging gambling activities may be especially pertinent to social casino gaming, which often involves the sharing of SCG scores or the promotion of SCG play with one’s online social networks through social media websites [1].

Academic performance is another factor not studied among adult SCG users that may be relevant to an understanding of social casino gaming among adolescents, particularly due to the centrality of school activities to adolescent lives [42]. Existing studies of online gambling show that poor academic performance, as reflected by lower grades in school, is predictive of monetary online gambling among adolescents [15, 43, 44]. Further, academic problems, such as missed classes, poor study habits, and failure to submit work, are also significantly associated with more pervasive monetary online gambling [41]. These same patterns of effects may further extend to SCG use.

Sedentary behaviour, exhibited by a lack of physical activity, may also be a factor relevant to adolescent SCG players. Although sedentary behaviour has been largely overlooked in studies of monetary gambling behaviours in general, some existing evidence suggests that more substantial periods of inactivity as well as indicators of poor physical health, such as obesity, are positively associated with a propensity toward monetary gambling across all age groups [45, 46]. Additionally, it has been shown that sedentary behaviour is particularly prominent during adolescence, with Canadian adolescents typically spending over 8 h daily engaging in sedentary activities, primarily those involving screens [47‐49]. Although a pervasiveness in screen time is harmful on its own [50], it may also increase exposure to online gaming and gambling, and may subsequently result in greater SCG play among this cohort.

An additional factor that may be associated with social casino gaming among adolescents is binge-drinking—the tendency to engage in the heavy consumption of alcohol over a short period of time with the intention of becoming intoxicated [51]. Binge-drinking has been show to increase during adolescence [52], and it has been linked to risky activities, including illicit drug use, tobacco use, and physical aggression [53, 54]. Previous studies of adolescents have further reported a significant association between binge-drinking and the risky activity of monetary gambling. Specifically, it has been shown that adolescents with a history of gambling are more likely to have experienced episodes of binge-drinking in the past year [55]. Binge-drinking is also significantly associated with at-risk and pathological gambling among adolescents [56, 57]. Theories of deviance suggest that a general propensity toward risk-taking may explain the typical co-occurrence between alcohol misuses and other risky activities, including gambling, whereby adolescents who seek stimulation and short-term and immediate gratification tend to engage in multiple problem behaviours [58, 59]. If this behavioural pattern extends to social casino gaming, then it is feasible that binge-drinking may also be associated with SCG play among adolescents.

The present study represents one of the first empirical analyses of the characteristics defining adolescent social casino gamers. It is also one of the first studies to examine the factors associated with social casino gaming across different types of SCGs: poker, slots, and SCGs hosted on the social media site Facebook. Poker and slots represent the most popular SCGs among adult samples [10, 17], and Facebook is the most popular social media site for SCG play [21]. The differentiation between SCG types in the present analysis was deemed important given that previous research on monetary gambling has demonstrated that individuals who engage in different types of gambling activities are typically defined by unique characteristics and tendencies [40, 60]. These same effects may also be applicable to SCGs. In addition to exploring these new effects, the present study aims to replicate previously reported associations between SCG use, monetary gambling, and problem gambling among adolescents. In pairing these replication efforts with assessments of SCG player characteristics, the aim is to contribute to a better understanding of the manner in which SCG play is related to monetary gambling among adolescents, and to build upon existing longitudinal studies on this topic. Use of SCGs in the past three months is assessed in the present study to capture current participation rather than lifetime participation in social casino gaming. Further, a large and representative sample of adolescents from three Canadian provinces is examined in the present study, thereby overcoming a limitation of the majority of Canadian studies of adolescent gambling that have primarily relied upon convenience samples recruited from major cities [61].

Based on existing literature, it is predicted that, among adolescents, males will be more likely to play the SCG of poker, whereas females will be more likely to play the SCG of slots [10]. Further, it is hypothesized that those who have played SCGs in the past three months will be more likely to report: being a current smoker, having access to either very high or very low disposable income, having parents or close peers who gamble, achieving lower grades in school, leading a more sedentary lifestyle, binge-drinking, and engaging in monetary gambling activities [10, 15, 44]. Additionally, based on existing findings, it is expected that higher-severity problem gambling will be observed among adolescents who have played SCGs in the past three months versus those who have not [14, 26]. Specific hypotheses regarding the manner in which factors associated with SCG play may differ across game types have not been put forth due to the paucity of research on this subject.

Participants in the study were 10,035 secondary-school students in Grades 9 to 12, ranging in age from 13 to 19 years. Participants completed the Youth Gambling Survey (YGS; [62]), a supplementary instrument administered alongside the Canadian Student Tobacco, Alcohol and Drugs Survey (CSTADS), formerly the Youth Smoking Survey (YSS) [63, 64]. Students were recruited to complete the YGS through stratified multistage sampling that yielded provincially representative samples from three Canadian provinces: Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Newfoundland and Labrador. All school boards, schools, and students who took part in the YSS in these provinces were also eligible to complete the YGS. Overall, a total of 15,269 students across the three provinces were eligible to take part in the YGS, and the response rate was 66%. The YGS was administered in both English and French following the YSS questionnaire, and it was completed by participating students in their classrooms during school hours. The administration of both the YSS and the YGS took approximately 20–30 min within each class. Data collection occurred in the years 2012–2013, and therefore it preceded the legalization of online gambling that took place in Ontario in January, 2015. Additional details regarding the YSS can be found at: https://​uwaterloo.​ca/​canadian-student-tobacco-alcohol-drugs-survey/​

Ethics approval for both the YSS and the YGS was granted by the University of Waterloo Research Ethics Office. Parental consent was obtained for all participating students via either an active permission protocol or an active information/passive permission protocol, based on the requirements of the corresponding school board or school. On the day of participation, all students were notified of their right to decline participation in the study.

Logistic regression analyses were employed to examine the factors associated with each type of social casino gaming: poker, slots, and SCGs on Facebook. Bootstrap survey weights were used in order to account for the sampling design. The statistical package STATA 12.0 was used for all analyses.

Problem gambling prevalence among current gamblers was compared between SCG players and SCG non-players across different types of SCGs (see Fig. 1). Across all game types assessed, a significantly larger proportion of SCG players versus non-players were classified as exhibiting gambling problems of low-to-moderate severity or high severity. In contrast, the vast majority of SCG non-players across all games types did not endorse items indicative of problem gambling. Specifically, for the SCG of poker, 18.5% of players versus 7.6% of non-players were categorized as having gambling problems of low-to-moderate severity, and 18.9% of players versus 2.3% of non-players were categorized as having gambling problems of high severity (χ² = 64.07, p < 0.001). For the SCG of slots, 17.8% of players versus 8.6% of non-players were classified as having gambling problems of low-to-moderate severity, and 32.5% of players versus 2.0% of non-players were classified as having gambling problems of high severity (χ² = 186.00, p < .001). Lastly, for SCGs accessible via Facebook, 18.6% of players versus 7.8% of non-players were shown to have gambling problems of low-to-moderate severity, and 19.3% of players versus 2.0% of non-players were shown to have gambling problems of high severity (χ² = 111.59, p < 0.001). Overall, adolescents who reported playing the SCG of slots exhibited the highest proportion of high-severity gamblers.

Logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess the factors associated with participation in three different types of social casino gaming in the past three months (Table 2). Separate models were examined for adolescents who reported playing SCG poker (Model 1), SCG slots (Model 2), and SCGs games on Facebook in the past (Model 3), compared to adolescents who did not report playing any type of SCGs in the past three months.

The present study revealed that, compared to individuals who did not play SCGs, adolescent SCG users were more likely to participate in both online monetary gambling and land-based monetary gambling across nearly all SCGs assessed. Previous investigations of SCG use among adolescents and adults have also reported similar findings [10, 20, 29]. Given the cross-sectional nature of the present study, it is not possible to know whether SCG play facilitates the transition to monetary gambling, whether adolescents who gamble seek out SCGs as a substitute for monetary gambling activities, or whether individuals who are already monetary gamblers choose to play SCGs because of the considerable similarities between the two activities [6, 11, 14, 20, 76]. However, recent longitudinal analyses conducted using adult and adolescent samples suggest that social casino gaming may indeed facilitate the crossover into monetary gambling [21, 26]. Consequently, it is plausible that social casino gaming may act as a prime for subsequent monetary gambling by facilitating the development of gambling habits that can be extended into monetary venues [17, 22]. This transition from SCG play into monetary gambling may be particularly relevant to some Canadian jurisdictions (i.e., Ontario) where monetary online gambling has been legalized. The legalization of monetary online gambling creates an environment in which gambling via the Internet is legitimized and accessible [77]. It further leads to the proliferation of advertising for online monetary gambling games, particularly within SCGs [23]. Consequently, adolescent SCG players residing in jurisdictions where online monetary gambling is legal may be particularly at-risk of pursuing this type of gambling given their familiarity with Internet-based gambling activities, and given their exposure to online-gambling advertisements. Further research is needed to examine the link between social casino gaming and online monetary gambling pre- and post-legalization of online gambling in relevant jurisdictions.

Interestingly, while players of SCG poker were significantly more likely than SCG non-players to take part in online monetary gambling, they did not differ significantly from SCG non-players in their tendency to seek out land-based monetary gambling. A potential explanation for this observation may be rooted in existing studies of typical gambling habits. Specifically, research has shown that individuals who gamble across different modalities tend to be consistent in the gambling activities they pursue [24, 26]. Among poker players, who typically identify strongly with the game of poker [26, 78], the tendency to remain dedicated to the game across various platforms may be particularly evident. In the case of adolescents who play the SCG of poker, however, a transition from social casino gaming communities into strictly monitored land-based monetary gambling venues may be difficult due to legal restrictions or the potentially intimidating nature of the poker-game environment. Instead, adolescent poker players interested in monetary gambling may more avidly seek out online monetary gambling opportunities that offer a less regulated and largely anonymous gambling environment [79, 80]. Further, the draw to online monetary poker among SCG poker players may be magnified by the popularity of the game on the Internet, and by the pervasive advertising for online poker that is typically embedded in SCGs [81]. These suggested effects represent an opportunity for further study, particularly in the context of SCGs.

Findings from the study revealed that, across all types of SCGs, a larger proportion of SCG players than non-players were classified as exhibiting signs of problem gambling. In contrast, adolescents who did not report playing SCGs in the past three months were predominantly classified as not being problem gamblers. These results are supportive of existing studies of adults and adolescents, in which social casino gaming has exhibited associations with problem gambling tendencies [2, 14, 27]. While the present results stem from a cross-sectional design, which precludes the identification of causal effects, it may be the case that individuals, and particularly adolescents, increase their likelihood of experiencing symptoms pertinent to problem gambling as a result of SCG play. In support, studies have found that adolescents develop inaccurate attitudes regarding monetary gambling through simulated gambling experiences [11]. Specifically, because SCGs aim to maximize player enjoyment in an effort to increase play time and frequency, these games are typically characterized by inflated odds of success alongside augmented payout rates—a system known as dynamic game balancing [82]. Dynamic game balancing in SCGs, therefore, can create the illusion that one is more skilled or perhaps luckier in a gambling game than is actually the case [24]. These flawed beliefs, in turn, prompt players to persist gambling in the face of financial loss when they transition into monetary gambling activities, yielding problematic gambling habits [20, 24, 83]. When these misleading experiences occur early in one’s life, they can be particularly predictive of later pathological gambling [23]. Consequently, the playing of SCGs may be a considerable risk factor for future problem gambling among adolescents.

With that said, it may also be the case that monetary gamblers who exhibit problem gambling tendencies more pervasively engage in social casino gaming [23]. This expansion from monetary gaming into SCGs may be seen as a way to diversify one’s gambling activities, or it may be considered an avenue through which gamblers seek to mitigate their gambling habits by participating in games that simulate gambling activities without carrying the same financial risk [2, 76].

Across all SCGs assessed, the highest proportion of SCG players exhibiting high-severity gambling tendencies were players of simulated slots. This observation is in line with previous studies of monetary gambling, where it has been reported that slot-machine gambling is significantly related to problem gambling among adolescents and adults [84, 85], and tends to be the preferred form of monetary gambling among problem gamblers [86, 87]. This link between slot-machine gambling and problem gambling has been attributed to the structural characteristics of slot-machine games, which are visually stimulating, offer a highly variable reward schedule, and provide instant feedback [88, 89]. Such structural characteristics have been shown to promote frequent and continuous gambling [89]. In the context of SCG play, it is possible that individuals drawn to the SCG of slots also have a preference for engaging in more highly addictive gambling games, such as slot-machine gambling, and may therefore be more likely to exhibit symptoms of gambling problems.

Overall, the present study identified six factors associated with social casino gaming among adolescents: gender, weekly spending money, smoking status, having friends who gamble, having parents who gamble, and screen time. Although considerable consistency was noted in the factors related to participation in the SCG of slots and SCGs on Facebook, SCG poker players tended to exhibit unique defining characteristics.

In line with previous research, males were more likely than females to report playing the SCG of poker in the past three months, relative to SCG non-players [10]. Gender differences in play were not observed for the SCG of slots or for SCG games on Facebook. The absence of gender differences among Facebook SCG players may be attributable to the fact that simulated gambling games on this social network site are often varied, combining competitive elements that typically appeal to male players with social elements that are typically more attractive to female players [1]. As a result, males and females may be equally drawn to these games. In the case of slots, which tend to be played more pervasively by females in both simulated and monetary forms [10, 32, 33], the rationale for the absence of gender differences is less clear. It is possible that the observed effects stem from the complex associations noted between gender, gambling tendencies, and use of new technologies in past studies. Specifically, while it has been observed that females are more likely to engage in gaming-machine gambling and gambling games of pure chance, such as slots [32], males are more commonly drawn to new digital and online platforms for gaming and gambling [90, 91]. Given that the SCG of slots currently represents a novel technological avenue for gaming, it may be equally appealing to both genders. Additional studies are needed to explore these findings.

Adolescents who reported taking part in SCGs in the past three months, regardless of game type, were more likely to indicate that they receive over $100 per week in allowance or earnings, in comparison to adolescents who did not report using SCGs. These same findings have been observed in studies of social casino gaming and monetary gambling among adults, where higher-income individuals tend to gravitate toward gambling activities [10, 40, 92]. Given that social casino gaming does not require the exchange of currency, it is likely not the case that adolescents with more disposable income are more likely to play SCGs because they would be less financially impacted by gambling losses, as has been suggested for adults [93, 94]. Rather, it may be the case that greater weekly spending among adolescents is an indicator of their household’s higher socioeconomic status. Adolescents residing in more financially stable households may have better access to computer equipment, cellular devices, and technological services, and may therefore have more opportunities to access SCGs [40].

As predicted, it was observed that adolescent SCG players were more likely to report having a friend or a parent who gambles in comparison to adolescents who had not played SCGs the past three months. These results are in line with existing research pertaining to online and land-based gambling [15, 39‐41], where it has been noted that close others within an individual’s environment tend to transmit their gambling attitudes and behaviours to the individual, be it through implied approval [37], through modeling [95], or through pressure to conform [96]. The one exception to this general pattern was observed for the SCG of poker, where it was noted that individuals who have played the SCG of poker in the past three months were not more likely to have friends who gamble than individuals who did not report taking part in SCGs. This lack of peer influence among SCG poker players has not been reported in previous investigations, and therefore warrants further study.

In the present study, adolescents reported spending an average of 3.6 hours daily on activities involving screens. This value exceeds the recommendations of the Canadian Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines for Children and Youth, which state that adolescents should limit recreational screen time to no more than 2 hours per day [97]. When sedentary tendencies were assessed in the context of SCG play, it was observed that simulated poker exhibited a unique pattern of associations with screen time in comparison to the other SCG types. Specifically, while it was found that adolescents who spent more time each day watching television, surfing the Internet, or playing computer games were more likely to participate in the SCG of slots and in Facebook SCGs, this same effect was not noted for poker. The finding that screen time may be linked to participation in some social casino gaming is a novel observation that has not been reported in previous assessments of SCG play. Existing research, however, has shown that inactivity and subsequent poor physical health are related to monetary gambling in general [45, 46], and therefore the present findings extend these previous observations. Longitudinal analyses are needed, however, to clarify the causal link between SCG play and sedentary tendencies. It may certainly be the case that individuals with more daily screen time are more likely to be exposed to SCGs, and are therefore more likely to take part in them [11, 17]. At the same time, it is also possible that social casino gaming facilitates sedentary tendencies due to the fact SCGs are typically designed to promote extended play and the frequent return of players to SCG host sites or applications [82]. Further research is also needed to better understand the absence of an association between screen time and the tendency to play the SCG of poker. Some findings from investigations of monetary gambling have noted that recreational poker play tends to be characterized by shorter play times, perhaps due to the taxing nature of the game [98, 99]. As a result, it is possible that participation in the SCG of poker—a form of recreational poker—does not entail considerable daily screen exposure. An empirical assessment of these effects, however, is needed.

In examining substance use in the context of SCG play, only one significant effect was observed. Specifically, it was noted that adolescents classified as current smokers had significantly greater odds of playing the SCG of slots in comparison to former smokers and non-smokers. All remaining types of SCGs were not shown to be linked to substance use. While the non-significant association between binge-drinking and social casino gaming echoes previous results obtained from an assessment of adults [10], the largely absent relationship between tobacco use and social casino gaming stands in contrast to previous findings observed among adults [10]. In studies of monetary gambling, theories of deviance have attributed the typical co-occurrence between gambling and substance use to a general propensity toward risk-taking and the seeking of short-term rewards [59, 94]. These same theories, however, do not appear to extend to SCG play. It may be the case that SCGs are considered insufficiently stimulating for individuals with a propensity toward sensation-seeking, perhaps due to the absence of monetary wins and losses in these games. Instead, these SCGs may attract less impulsive individuals who are not drawn to risky activities, including substance use.

The observation that only the SCG of slots exhibited a significant association with current tobacco use requires further investigation given that it is presently unclear why this particular SCG alone is linked to adolescent smoking status. Given the availability of empirical evidence suggesting that both slot-machine gambling [88, 89] and tobacco use [100] are highly addictive activities, it may be the case that individuals with a tendency to engage in addictive behaviours may seek them out. This explanation is particularly plausible given the considerable structural similarities that exist between the SCG of slots and slot-machine games intended for monetary gambling [76]. Additional research is needed, however, to better understand these findings.

Although existing research pertaining to online gambling suggests that poorer academic performance may be associated with participation in gambling among adolescent samples [15, 43, 44], these effects were not observed in the present investigation across all three SCG types. Rather, social casino gamers did not differ significantly from non-gamers in terms of typical grade achieved in school. Consequently, while achievement in school may be relevant to monetary gambling, it does not appear to be an key factor in defining the profiles of social casino gamers across SCG types.

Although every effort was made to design a study that would yield valid findings, the present investigation is not without its limitations. A central limitation of the study is its cross-sectional design. While this design allowed us to obtain large and representative data that inform the various factors associated with social casino gaming, it prohibits us from stating conclusively that the factors examined are causally predictive of SCG use. The results, however, do demonstrate key links between participation in SCGs and personal and environmental indicators relevant to adolescent populations that have largely been unexamined by previous research endeavours. As a result, the present study offers a foundation for subsequent longitudinal analyses examining predictors of adolescent SCG use.

A further limitation of the present investigation is its reliance on self-report data, which may have been affected by response bias. Specifically, participants may have under-reported specific types of behaviours, especially those deemed socially undesirable [101], although it has been shown that this type of self-management is less problematic for non-pathological gambling behaviours [102]. In an effort to offset potential issues pertinent to self-report assessment in the present study, and to augment honest responding, we collected data through anonymous paper-based questionnaires, and we instructed survey administrators to refrain from moving through the survey location when the measures were being completed by respondents. Although steps were taken to maximize honest responding, the self-report nature of the measures used in the present study did not allow us to collect information about the gambling habits of close others directly from participants’ peers and parents. Future investigations may wish to include other-report measures into their designs in order to obtain primary information from adolescents’ friends and family regarding their own gambling and/or SCG play.

Status of SCG play (players versus non-players) and gambling status (gamblers versus non-gamblers) was limited to the previous three months in the present study. This timeframe was established during the development and validation of the GPSS of the CAGI [66], and this same timeframe was extended to our measures of social casino gaming in the interest of consistency. Due to our restricted focus on the preceding three months, however, it should be noted that the reported results provide a conservative estimate of the effects examined in our study. Additionally, although the present study employed a common threshold of 100 cigarettes to determine smoking status, we acknowledge that this criterion may be arbitrary, and perhaps too coarse to effectively capture the complex nature of early experimentation with tobacco among adolescents [70]. Furthermore, we recognize that Facebook better reflects a medium for accessing SCGs rather than a type of SCG, and therefore our assessment of SCGs on Facebook may have confounded point of access with game class. Future studies of SCGs are encouraged to assess SCG types independently from SCG mediums.

Due to the fact that the YGS was a supplementary measure with length restrictions, it was not feasible to assess an exhaustive list of variables potentially relevant to SCG play. Variables that were not examined in the present study, but that may ultimately bear relevance to assessments of SCG player characteristics include: platform of access to SCGs (e.g., social networks, apps, video games, demo games [28], location of access to SCGs (e.g., home versus outside of home) [28], an exhaustive list of all possible SCGs available to players (e.g., sports betting, bingo, blackjack) [1], and frequency of SCG play [30]. Subsequent investigations of SCGs are encouraged to examine these variables in an effort to yield a more comprehensive understanding of social casino gaming, particularly among adolescents.