My Teen Is Gambling: Warning Signs and What Parents Can Do

Finding gambling activity on a young person's phone, console, bank statement, or browser can be frightening. Start with safety and facts. You do not need to diagnose them, settle every loss, or decide on a punishment before taking the next protective step.

Separate immediate danger from gambling support

If the young person may hurt themselves, someone else may be in danger, or there is a medical emergency, use the current United States crisis options now. Outside the United States, use the international support directory and a current local emergency or crisis service. If someone is threatening them over money or gambling, do not arrange a private meeting or send more money to make the threat stop; use an appropriate local safety service.

Warning signs to notice without diagnosing

One sign does not prove that a young person has a gambling disorder. The Gambling Commission's current youth screen asks about a pattern of behaviors including:

thinking about or planning gambling often;
gambling to escape problems or when feeling bad;
feeling bad or fed up when trying to cut down;
needing to spend more money for the same excitement;
spending much more than planned;
taking money without permission to gamble;
gambling leading to arguments or missed school;
lying to family or friends about gambling; and
returning after a loss to try to win the money back.

That survey screen is not a diagnosis, and these behaviors can have other explanations. If you are worried about the young person's physical or mental health, contact a pediatrician, GP, or licensed child or adolescent mental-health professional. In England and Wales, the Gambling Commission's current guidance says a GP can refer a young person to local treatment and support services. Elsewhere, ask a current local service where to start and what ages it accepts.

Start with a calm, private conversation

The Gambling Commission's conversation guidance recommends an open, honest conversation where the young person can ask questions without feeling judged. Choose a time when neither of you is in the middle of an argument or gambling session. State what you observed rather than assigning a label:

“I saw these transactions, and I want to understand what is happening. My first concern is your safety, not getting you in trouble.”

Ask:

what website, app, game, account, or person is involved;
whether money, virtual currency, skins, items, or gift cards were spent;
whose account and payment method were used;
whether there are debts, loans, threats, blackmail, or pressure from other people;
whether they feel able to stop; and
whether gambling is affecting sleep, school, mood, or relationships.

Avoid shame, threats, or demanding a public confession. Do not ask them to send passwords, PINs, one-time codes, full payment details, identity documents, or private crisis information through email, forums, or social media.

Protect money and accounts

If it is safe to do so:

Secure shared cards, wallets, app-store accounts, and saved payment methods.
Review transactions with the young person and keep a factual record of unfamiliar charges.
Contact the payment provider through its official app, number, or website if a card or account may be compromised. Do not publish account details.
Change credentials for an adult account that the young person was not authorized to use, and enable the provider's current security controls.
Prioritize food, housing, medication, utilities, and other essential needs. Do not place another bet or deposit more money to try to recover a loss.

Do not let a minor place bets through an adult's account. Age, account-sharing, and proxy-wagering rules vary by jurisdiction and product. For example, New Jersey's sports-wagering rules prohibit a patron from placing a wager for another person. That example is not a universal statement of law. If the issue involves another adult and money you share, use the shared-finance safety guide instead; it explains ownership, account-authority, and unauthorized-use boundaries.

Add device and purchase controls

Use the current controls for every device and account the young person can reach:

Apple explains how to prevent in-app purchases, require a password, and use Ask to Buy.
Google Family Link can approve or block Google Play purchases and apps. Google's purchase approval does not cover every website, device, or alternative billing route.
Nintendo lets a parent or guardian disable purchases and auto-renewal for supervised accounts.
PlayStation child accounts support monthly spending limits. A separate account-level payment-authentication setting may be available on some devices.

Parental controls add friction; they are not treatment and cannot guarantee prevention. A browser, gift card, alternate billing route, another device, or an adult account may sit outside the control you enabled.

Identify the product before choosing an account action

Sportsbooks, casino games, fantasy contests, sweepstakes casinos, social casinos, skins wagering, and loot boxes are not interchangeable legal categories. Age limits, regulation, and account remedies differ by product and jurisdiction.

In Great Britain, the Gambling Commission says most commercial gambling is restricted to people aged 18 or older. Do not apply that rule worldwide. In the United States, the 2018 Supreme Court decision in Murphy v. NCAA removed a federal restriction; it did not itself legalize sports betting in every state.

Products described as sweepstakes casinos should not be treated as automatically legal or regulated alternatives. Their status varies. The New York Attorney General's 2025 action is one jurisdiction-specific example, not a nationwide rule.

Contact the operator through its current official support route and ask:

whether the account is registered to a minor or was accessed through an adult account;
what restriction, closure, or underage-account process applies;
when the action becomes effective;
which products, brands, and accounts it covers;
how any remaining balance or pending activity will be handled; and
whether the regulator has a separate report or exclusion process.

Closing an underage account is not the same as formal self-exclusion. Ask what action was applied and what it covers. Do not send identity documents through ordinary email unless the official service specifically directs you to a secure verification route.

What current evidence can and cannot show

In the Gambling Commission's 2025 school survey of 3,666 people aged 11–17 in England, Scotland, and Wales, 30% reported spending their own money on some form of gambling in the previous 12 months. Some reported activities were legal or unregulated, including private betting. A youth-adapted screening tool classified 1.2% as experiencing problem gambling, compared with 1.5% in 2024; the reported difference was not statistically significant.

Those figures are self-reported Great Britain survey estimates. They are not a global prevalence rate, a diagnosis of any individual, or evidence that every reported activity was illegal.

Research has found an association between loot-box spending and problem-gambling severity, but the UK government's evidence response does not establish that loot boxes cause gambling problems. Legal classification also varies.

The National Institute of Mental Health says brain development continues beyond the teenage years. There is no scientifically established birthday at which judgment suddenly becomes fully mature. Brain development does not remove a young person's agency or prove why one individual gambled.

Find age-appropriate help

A pediatrician, GP, or licensed child and adolescent mental-health professional can help you find the current local assessment and referral route. A school safeguarding or counseling contact may be able to help you locate school or local support; do not assume it provides a clinical assessment. Ask each service:

what ages it accepts;
whether it has gambling-specific experience;
whether a parent, guardian, or young person can refer;
what it charges and whether insurance is involved; and
what information it may share with a parent or guardian.

In the United States, use the National Problem Gambling Helpline's help-by-state route to find current gambling-specific resources. Availability and minimum ages vary. In England and Wales, the Gambling Commission's current youth-help page describes a specialist clinic route that accepts referrals from age 13 subject to its current criteria.

This page does not promise a particular outcome from cognitive behavioral therapy, motivational interviewing, an app, blocking software, or peer support. Ask a qualified local service what is appropriate for this young person.

Privacy rules for minors vary by jurisdiction, type of care, insurance, and safety circumstances. Parents often have access to a minor's health information, while some care may be confidential. A clinician may disclose information when required for safety or by law.

The US Department of Health and Human Services describes important limits and exceptions in the United States. Ask the service what it can keep private before sharing.

Sources and limits

This guide was reviewed on July 24, 2026 using the linked current government, regulator, healthcare, platform, and crisis-service sources. Product controls, support eligibility, age rules, law, and service availability can change. Check the official source for the young person's location, product, device, and age.

This page is educational and cannot diagnose a young person or replace individual medical, mental-health, legal, financial, or safeguarding advice.

If you need to talk to someone