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Gambling
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Gambling can affect young people's health and well-being. Because youth gambling is influenced by factors such as advertising, access, and social norms, communities can help prevent harm through education, supportive policies, and youth-focused prevention efforts.
How has youth gambling changed over time in Massachusetts?
Use the dropdown menu to view different types of youth gambling over time. Learn more about our methods.
Takeaways
- Participation in fantasy sports among middle schoolers has risen from 2017 (15%) to 2025 (19%). During the same time period, participation in fantasy sports among high schoolers has remained steady (~19%).
- Despite slight increases from 2017 to 2025, participation in casino gambling remains low among middle (2% in 2025: 1% in 2017) and high schoolers (4% in 2025: 3% in 2017). Because the legal age for casino gambling in Massachusetts is 21, any gambling among youth is noteworthy.
- While not shown in the graphs above, state gambling data showed differences across student groups.
- Boys were more likely than girls to report participation in any form of gambling in the past year (2025: 51% versus 37% among middle schoolers and 56% versus 42% among high schoolers).
- White students were more likely to participate in any form of gambling (2025: 53% among high schoolers and 55% among middle schoolers) than students of color (2025: ranging from 27% to 47% among different racial/ethnic groups ).
Free and reduced cost services
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Our Definitions
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See our Methods and Data Dictionary to learn how we grouped students into categories based on their responses to demographic questions.
Strategies & Research to Promote Youth Wellbeing
Strategies
Explore evidence-based practices, promising approaches, public awareness campaigns, tools, policy strategies, and examples of local action that support youth well-being and help prevent negative health outcomes.
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Research
Explore surveys, reports, briefs, research studies, and other data resources that help communities understand youth experiences, identify needs, monitor trends, and inform action.
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