International studies have consistently shown that gambling is part of the life experiences of most young people (Hayer and Griffiths 2014). Such findings will hopefully encourage more research into youth gambling to further understand the determinants of this phenomenon. It is concluded that a small but significant minority of adolescents have gambling-related problems.
However, despite this variability, several demographic characteristics were associated with adolescent gambling involvement and problem gambling. The findings showed that 0.2–12.3 % of youth meet criteria for problem gambling, notwithstanding differences among assessment instruments, cut-offs, and timeframes. After an extensive search on academic databases and following an exclusion process, 44 studies were identified. The present paper reviews studies that have been conducted worldwide since 2000, and then presents a more detailed picture of adolescent gambling research in Europe, by providing a country-by country analysis. Following a rapid expansion of legalized gambling opportunities and the emergence of new forms of gambling, many researchers have carried out studies on adolescent gambling and problem gambling. Previous research has shown that gambling is a popular activity among adolescents.
