What is the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the prevalence og gambling and video gaming among adolescents in Spain?

Abstract

The sudden shift from in-person to online education due to COVID-19 school closures exposed adolescents to a higher likelihood of initiating or increasing engagement in gambling and video gaming. The objective of this study is to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence of gambling and video games among adolescents in Spain. The Spanish School Survey on Drug Use for students aged 14-18 years is used, analysing two waves of data: one before the pandemic outbreak and one after. The results show that the prevalence of video game and esports-related behaviours increased. On the other hand, gambling activities decreased considerably with a great disparity between online and offline modalities. To estimate the causal effect of the pandemic, a regression is performed showing that COVID-19 had a different effect on teenagers based on their age and gender.