Prohibited to those under 18, gambling is nevertheless becoming a part of the lives of French high school students. Scratch tickets, draws, sports betting: a large national survey carried out among adolescents aged 15 to 17 reveals a clear increase in these practices in just a few years.
According to ENJEU-Mineurs 2025, a study by ARPEJ and the National Gaming Authority carried out online at the end of summer 2025, 42.6% of 15-17 year olds say they have played at least one gambling game during the year, compared to 34.8% in 2021. Boys (45.5%) remain a little more concerned than girls (39.6%).
Gambling booms among teenagers
This increase is mainly due to scratch gamespracticed by 34.3% of young people (27.3% in 2021), and on drawing games (20.0%). Sports betting is also gaining ground, affecting 11.4% of 15-17 year olds, in a world where sport and social networks intertwine.
The practice becomes more regular: 12.1% of adolescents play at least every week and 14.2% one to three times a month. The median expenditure per gaming occasion increased from 6 to 10 euros between 2021 and 2025, and a growing share exceeds 20 euros wagered.
Parents, online accounts, ads… access to gambling largely trivialized
For many, the first step comes from family. In 2025, 65.0% of young players say they accessed games sold at points of sale thanks to their parents. Online, 36.9% use their parents’ account with consent, 26.4% a personal account created with their help.
Teenagers also live in an intense advertising environment: 78.8% of 15-17 year olds say they have seen ads for gambling, often on social networks or via influencers. “Prevention cannot be limited to messages broadcast in the media: it must rely on concrete and proven tools to develop minors’ critical thinking and their psychosocial skills. The results of the study thus confirm the relevance of the dissemination of the OPERA tool, deployed free of charge by the ARPEJ for three years across the entire territory. It is also necessary to strengthen the protection of minors and the most vulnerable through stricter advertising regulation on social networks and during major sporting events. The preventive approach must also involve parents“, alerted Emmanuel Benoît, director of ARPEJ.
Addiction to gambling: warning signs already visible among 15-17 year olds
Damage appears early. According to the Canadian Excessive Gambling Index, 5.1% of 15-17 year olds are moderate risk gamblers and 5.4% are excessive gamblers, or 10.5% have problem profiles. Many young people talk about stress, disturbed sleep or poor morale linked to gambling.
Adolescents are not fooled: 67.4% have a negative attitude towards gambling and many believe that “gambling is like a drug”, “that it is dangerous for family life” and “that there are too many opportunities to gamble”.
“Because, we know, the earlier you start gambling, the greater the risk of addiction. To change the situation, we therefore need the determination of all stakeholders which involves necessary developments: strengthening controls on the ban on sales to minors in physical points of sale, a limitation of the gaming paths of young players, the elimination of the provisional online player account and finally, a significant reduction in media exposure thanks to stricter supervision of advertising and sponsorship“, recalled Isabelle Falque-Pierrotin, president of the ANJ, cited by the National Gaming Authority.