Gambling Behaviour, Motivations, and Risk Awareness Among Adolescents in Lagos, Nigeria: A Cross-Sectional Survey
Olushola Olibamoyo, Babasola Adetiloye, Ifeoluwa Daniel.
Background: Gambling has become increasingly accessible to young people in Nigeria, yet empirical data on adolescent gambling behaviour remain limited. Understanding patterns of engagement, early exposure, motivations, and risk awareness is essential, given adolescents’ heightened neurodevelopmental vulnerability to behavioural addictions. This study examined gambling behaviour, exposure, motivations, and awareness of gambling-related risks among school adolescents in Lagos State.
Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was conducted among adolescents aged 13–17 years in two randomly selected senior secondary schools within Education District VI, Lagos State. A multistage sampling approach was used, beginning with the selection of the education district, followed by the selection of schools, then classes, and finally individual students, while ensuring gender representation. 301 (response rate: ~100%) completed interviewer-administered questionnaires and a validated DSM-5–based screening tool adapted for cultural relevance. Descriptive statistics were used for the survey analysis.
Results: Participants had a mean age of 15.3 ± 1.2 years, and 50.2% were male. Overall, 29.2% had gambled, most commonly through online sports betting (40.9%) and card staking (52.2%), while 66.4% knew someone who gambled. Early exposure was common: 42.1% of those who gambled had initiated the behaviour at age ≤13, primarily introduced by friends. Motivations included desire for money (50%), passing time (19.4%), and peer influence (15.9%). Although 57.8% perceived youth gambling as a serious problem, only 18.2% believed they were personally at risk. DSM-5 screening (cut-off ≥4) identified 4.7% as meeting criteria for gambling disorder.
Conclusion: School adolescents in Lagos showed substantial exposure to gambling and early initiation, driven by peer influence and financial motivations. Despite high awareness of risks, personal risk perception remains low. School-based gambling awareness curricula and stricter enforcement of age restrictions on betting platforms are recommended.
