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 HappyLuke 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.

Discussion

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 goal of the present investigation was to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the factors associated with social casino gaming among adolescents across three types of SCGs. Results from the study revealed significant associations between social casino gaming, monetary gambling in online and land-based forms, and indicators of problem gambling. Additionally, findings identified key factors that distinguish adolescent social casino gamers from adolescents who do not play SCGs.

Overall, the proportion of adolescents who reported playing SCGs in the present study (12.4%) is in line with previous estimates of social casino gaming prevalence among both adolescent and adult samples [10]. It should be noted, however, that the proportion of adolescent SCG players observed in the present study may be an underestimate of social casino gaming prevalence, given that SCG play in the current study is restricted to the past three months. Further, consistent with previous studies of social casino gaming among adults the present findings showed that the most popular SCG among adolescents is simulated poker [10, 17].