Despite having similar profiles, overlap between problematic levels of gaming and gambling was modest, with only 10.5% of the 466 problem gamblers also being problem video gamers and 24.1% of the 203 problem video gamers also being problem gamblers. Some differences did exist, with problem video gamers tending to be younger, somewhat less impulsive, less likely to have a substance use disorder, and more likely to have depression. Problem gamblers and problem gamers were found to have similar demographic features as well as high rates of mental health problems and impulsivity.
However, frequency of involvement in gambling as well as all individual types of gambling was only weakly correlated with frequency of involvement in video games. Most past year video gamers reported gambling in the past year (78.5%) and most past year gamblers reported playing video games in the past year (70.7%). The relationship between video gaming and gambling was examined in a large cross-sectional sample of 3942 Canadian online panelists who responded to a solicitation recruiting individuals who regularly gambled or played video games.
