People who gambled in their youth twice as likely to have gambling problem in adulthood, study finds

Playing slot machines was the most common form of gambling for money as a child which was reported by 33% of respondents. File picture: iStock

Irish people who engaged in some form of gambling as children are almost twice as likely to have a gambling problem as someone never exposed directly to gambling in their youth, according to new research.

A study carried out by the Economic and Social Research Institute also found the probability of having problem gambling almost doubles among people who had a parent who gambled a lot during their childhood.