Social media use can increase the risk of problem gambling

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Author(s): Moravec, Vaclav ; Hynek, Nik ; Gavurova, Beata ; Rigelsky, Martin ; Miovsky, Michal

Journal: INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing

Year Published: 2025

Date Added: June 20, 2025

Gambling is becoming more widely available. Yet, the relationship between social media use and problem gambling is underexplored. This study examined the association between social media use and problem gambling among Czechs aged 16 and older. Males, younger people, those with lower education, and those who were unemployed or students were found to have higher scores on the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI). More frequent use of social media for news, disruptive social media use behaviours (e.g., waking up at night to check social networks), and problematic social media use involving lying to others and having conflict with family over social media use were linked to higher PGSI scores.

Citation: Moravec, V., Hynek, N., Gavurova, B., Rigelsky, M., & Miovsky, M. (2025). From clicks to bets: How social media engagement influences gambling-severity–cross-sectional research. INQUIRY: The Journal of Health Care Organization, Provision, and Financing, 62, 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/00469580251318162

Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/00469580251318162

Keywords: online gambling ; Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) ; social media

Topics: Gambling Assessment ; Online Gambling

Conceptual Framework Factors: Exposure - Gambling Setting ; Types - Structural Characteristics ; Exposure - Marketing and Messaging ; Exposure - Accessibility ; Gambling Exposure

Response Rate: 78.80% (3,093 responses out of the 3,925 target respondents).

Study Design: Descriptive: Survey

Geographic Coverage: Czechia

Study Population: The sample comprises 3,093 Czech respondents aged 16 and older, with 48.4% males and 51.5% females.

Sampling Procedure: Quota sampling was used, considering sex, age, education level, region, residence size, Internet use, employment status, and 2021 and 2023 election behavior. Data were collected through computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI) in November 2023. No other sampling procedure information was provided.

Study Funding:

This study was funded by the project Support for increasing the impact, innovation and sustainability of CEDMO in the Czech Republic, which was funded by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility and received institutional support and funding from the Institutional Program Cooperatio (Health Sciences) from Charles University.