Grant: Catalyst Grant: Health Impacts of Gambling and Gaming

The gambling landscape has changed dramatically in the last decade. Technological advances in gambling, such as expanded gambling opportunities through online platforms and features that resemble gambling in video games, and changes to provincial gambling policies have made gambling much more accessible. Since first gambling experiences typically occur in adolescence, there is a need to identify the potential risk and protective factors for gambling among youth. However, there are a lack of Canadian longitudinal studies on risk and protective factors for gambling among youth. The goal of this study is to identify risk and protective factors for gambling among Canadian youth to help inform interventions that could minimize potential harms of gambling. We will (1) identify factors associated with different gambling types, (2) identify patterns of online gambling over time, and (3) explore the association between online gambling and gaming, anxiety, and depression. We will also examine how factors associated with different gambling types and patterns of gambling differ by student gender. Data for this research come from the COMPASS Study, a 15-year study that tracks the health behaviours of over 80,000 students from more than 180 schools in five Canadian provinces over time. We will identify the profiles of students who engage in different types of gambling using data from 2023-24, and patterns of online gambling over time using data from 2017-20. Evidence from this research will provide insight into the risk and protective factors for gambling among Canadian youth and generate the knowledge required to design school-based interventions targeting gaming, gambling, and associated risk behaviours.