Spanish Ministry says minors need more information about gambling
The Spanish gambling regulator raised concerns following a survey of school students.
Spain.- The Ministry of Social Rights, Consumption and the 2030 Agenda is calling for more measures to prevent gambling among minors. The move follows an analysis of data from a survey dubbed ESTUDES, which was conducted by the Spanish Observatory on Drugs and Addictions.
The survey was carried out among secondary school students aged 14 to 18. An evaluation carried out by the Spanish gambling regulator, the DGOJ, identified risks including a lack of specific training on preventing problematic gambling behaviours.
Almost half of the school population surveyed (48.4 per cent of students) reported having received information about the problems and risks of gambling and betting, which the ministry says contrasts with the information received on other topics such as the misuse of new technologies (74 per cent) or the use of legal drugs (72.3 per cent).
The survey also found that 19.8 per cent of respondents said they had gambled for money, most of them in person (16.6 per cent versus 9 per cent online). This type of gambling grew with age, the ministry noted, since the percentage of 14-year-old students who gambled for money in person was 13 per cent, but the proportion rose to 19.5 per cent by the age of 17, especially among boys (26.8 per cent versus 12.6 per cent of girls).
An early start in gaming
The study warns about the early initiation of gambling. The data show that the average age of initiation is around 14 years old (13.9 to be precise). Regarding gambling frequency, the conclusion is more positive since almost two-thirds of young people who reported gambling say they only gamble once a year, and the majority (63.2 per cent) did not spend more than six euros in a single day.
However, the ministry warns that 3.7 per cent of respondents showed indicators of problem gambling, with gender differences repeating: men were three times as likely as women to experience problem gambling. Type III games (betting, slot machines, and card games) were observed to present a higher risk of potential problem gambling than lotteries and pools and instant lotteries and bingo).
Based on the analysis, the ministry said more needs to be done to prevent early onset and problematic gambling practices in minors.
New surveillance system for online gambling in Spain
The report comes after the DGOJ published an update on its progress to create an ambitious AI-driven surveillance system for online gambling. The initiative is designed to track online gambling activity in real time and pinpoint patterns linked to risky or problematic behaviour.
The regulator said it would incorporate over 60 behavioural and transactional indicators into the system. The aim of the project is to detect early warning signs in order to facilitate personalised interventions by operators.
Promoted by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, it stems from the 2023 Royal Decree on Safer Gambling Environments, which mandated the DGOJ to develop tools that mitigate gambling-related harm.
The system will be powered by the machine learning algorithm XGBoost. It will assess variables, such as session frequency and intensity, betting behaviour following wins or losses, and patterns in deposits and withdrawals. Additional metrics include cash-out habits, consecutive days of play, and preferences for live betting – an area the regulator sees as particularly high-risk due to its fast pace and impulsive nature.
