.png)
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- By the time parents see it, it's usually been running for years
- The platforms feeding it were built by behavioural psychologists to be impossible to put down
- Gambling addiction is almost always co-occurring with depression, anxiety, or trauma — treating one without the other doesn't work
Around 31% of Australian students aged 12–17 have gambled.
Among those who gambled in the past month, 13% already meet the clinical criteria for problem gambling.
For Gen Z, gambling didn't arrive through a casino door. It arrived through a screen — built into games, sport, and social feeds. It looked like entertainment. It rewired like an addiction. By the time it becomes visible at home, it's usually been running for years and is entrenched into the person's habits and biology.
If you're a parent watching this unfold and don't know what to do next, this is for you.
How Gen Z Gets Hooked — And Why It's Not Their Fault
Gambling for Gen Z isn't one thing — it's everywhere, and it rarely announces itself as gambling at all.
✓ Sports betting sits inside the same apps where young people follow their teams.
✓ Loot boxes use identical reward mechanics to poker machines.
✓ Social casino apps replicate pokies with no real-money payout but the same dopamine loop.
✓ Online poker and casino platforms are accessible 24 hours a day from any device.
✓ Fantasy sports blur the line between skill and chance.
✓ Scratch cards and Keno are available at the corner store.
What these have in common isn't money — it's the behaviour. The chase. The dopamine hit of an uncertain outcome.
A person can be deeply addicted without ever losing significant money, because the addiction lives in the act, not the financial consequence. Waiting for the bank account to reflect the problem means waiting too long.
None of this is accidental.
These platforms are deliberately engineered — using decades of research into human psychology — to make stopping as difficult as possible. Variable reward, infinite scroll, notifications timed to re-engage at moments of highest susceptibility.
A son or daughter who cannot stop is not failing to resist entertainment. They are up against systems specifically built to produce that outcome.
Psychiatrist Anna Lembke describes a dopamine nation — a society whose baseline neurology is being reshaped by products designed to exploit the brain's reward circuitry.
The Australian Institute of Family Studies found that children who play simulated gambling games are 40% more likely to spend real money gambling as adults. The highest-risk window is ages 16 to 22.
By the time you're seeing the problem clearly, they've often been rehearsing the behaviour for close to a decade.
Why It's Rarely Just About the Gambling
The relationship between gambling and mental health runs in both directions.
For some, gambling begins as self-medication — depression, anxiety, or trauma come first, and gambling provides relief nothing else has touched. For others, prolonged gambling disrupts the brain's baseline dopamine function until everything else feels flat or unbearable — the gambling creates the anxiety and depression, not the other way around.
In practice, both are often true at once. Gambling, depression, anxiety, and substance use reinforce each other — each making the other harder to address. Which is why treatment that targets only the gambling rarely works.
Signs It's Real — Not Just a Phase
Gambling problems can be serious long before the finances reflect it:
- Behavioural
Preoccupation with odds and results; secrecy around spending or phone use; escalating bets to chase losses
- Emotional
Anxiety or low mood tied to gambling outcomes; gambling to escape or numb; repeated failed attempts to stop
- Financial
Unexplained debt or missing money; spending allocated for bills; hiding losses
- Relational
Dishonesty about the extent of the problem; withdrawal when gambling escalates; minimising: "I've got it under control," "at least I'm not on drugs"
The minimising is usually protective, not deceptive. Meeting it with accusation closes the conversation. What's actually going on for you? tends to open it.
What Your Role Is as a Parent
1. You may be a variable.
What model are you showing? The strongest predictor of a young person's gambling is their parents' gambling. Almost 70% of parents who gambled in the past year did so with their children present (NSW Government, 2023).
2. Ultimatums push the problem underground.
More useful: I can see this is costing you more than money. What's going on, and what would help?
3. You can't want recovery more than they do - but you can stay connected, keep the door open, and know what good treatment looks like when they're ready.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if it's serious enough to need treatment?
If attempts to stop have failed more than once, if gambling is affecting finances, relationships, or mental health, and if they're hiding the extent of it — those are clinical indicators, not a phase. Earlier intervention produces better outcomes than waiting.
What if they won't admit there's a problem?
The most common situation parents face. Denial and minimising are part of the pattern. Keeping the relationship intact is more useful than forcing an admission — people accept help from people they trust.
Can gambling cause depression and anxiety?
Yes — and it works in both directions. For some people, depression or anxiety comes first and gambling becomes a coping mechanism. For others, prolonged gambling disrupts the brain's baseline dopamine function, which creates or worsens depression and anxiety over time. In most cases both are true simultaneously, which is why effective treatment addresses both together rather than in sequence.
Sources
- Royal Children's Hospital National Child Health Poll — Gambling and teens: concern among parents (2024)
- Australian National University (2024) — young Australians' online gambling habits (Suomi et al.)
- Australian Institute of Family Studies (cited in Australian Government classification reform, September 2024)
- NSW Government, Office of Responsible Gambling — Role of Parents in Youth Gambling (2023)
- Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, "Gen Bet" research (Freund et al. 2019; O'Brien & Iqbal 2019)
- GambleAware NSW / Warren & Yu (2019) — youth gambling prevalence
- Lembke, A. (2021) — Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence
- Australian Government, video game classification reforms (September 2024)
When It's Beyond a Conversation
When attempts to stop have failed, Noosa Confidential treats the roots of the addiction — not just the behaviour. We address what's driving it while helping rebuild the life around it.
Call 1800 957 785 or visit noosaconfidential.com.au/programs/gambling-addiction