Researchers at Rutgers University’s Center for Gambling Studies released a national survey of gambling among Americans aged 13 to 27 on October 28, 2026. One finding stands out for anyone following sweepstakes and social casino platforms: among respondents who played social casino games in the past year, 41.1% scored in the highest band of problem gambling risk.
What the study measured
The team, led by center director Lia Nower, surveyed 1,677 adolescents and young adults between April 24 and July 4, 2026. Respondents came from NORC’s AmeriSpeak panel, a probability-based national panel, and results were weighted to national population benchmarks. Rutgers gives a maximum margin of error of 3.2 percentage points for the full sample and 6.1 points for teens.
The survey covered 21 activities, from raffles, bingo and scratch-offs to sports betting, cryptocurrency trading, prediction markets and social casino games. Risk was scored with the Problem Gambling Severity Index, a nine-question screen covering the past 12 months. A score of 8 or more places someone in the high-risk group. Rutgers says that group corresponds to gambling addiction in clinical settings.
Rutgers describes it as the first national prevalence study of this age group in nearly 20 years. It was funded by a Center of Excellence grant from the International Center for Responsible Gaming.
The headline numbers
- 52.5% of all respondents gambled in the past year, including 42.7% of those aged 13 to 17.
- Among those who gambled, 39.5% showed at least some level of problem gambling risk and 10.3% were high risk.
- About 11% of teen gamblers were in the high-risk group, although they are below the legal age for regulated gambling.
- High-risk gamblers took part in 6.7 different activities on average, against 2.7 for gamblers with no symptoms. Of the high-risk group, 65.4% gambled both online and in person.
Where social casino games fit
Social casino games were a minority activity. Only 8.5% of the young people who gambled had played them. But risk was concentrated among those who did. Besides the 41.1% classed as high risk, another 29.7% fell in the moderate-risk band. Keno players (42.4%) and prediction market users (39.8%) showed similar high-risk shares. Across all gamblers in the survey, the high-risk share was 10.3%.
How the report defines the category matters for readers of this site. Its glossary describes social casino games as apps or platforms that simulate casino games, let users buy virtual currency or credits, and offer chances to redeem winnings for money or cash prizes. That description overlaps with the dual-currency model that sweepstakes casinos use, where one coin is for play only and a second can be redeemed for prizes. Our guide to Gold Coins and Sweeps Coins explains how the two currencies usually work.
The report does not name any platform, and it does not report sweepstakes casinos as a separate group. Rutgers’ press release frames the category differently, as games that simulate casino gambling without an upfront cost to play. So the findings cannot be read as a measurement of sweepstakes casinos alone.
What the study does not show
The authors are careful about cause and effect. The survey captures one point in time, and the report states that this design does not establish whether a particular activity contributes to gambling problems. One possibility the authors raise is that risk rises with the number of activities a person takes part in. Another is that some of these activities are more likely to start or worsen problems. They say tracking the same patterns over time would help tell the two apart.
Social casino players were also a small slice of the sample. A finding drawn from a small subgroup carries more uncertainty than the overall figures.
What the researchers recommend
The center’s recommendations include starting prevention education in middle school and setting up a federal gambling regulator with national minimum standards, such as self-exclusion that works across online and in-person gambling. It also calls for stronger oversight of gambling-like products that may sit outside conventional safeguards, naming social casino games and prediction markets. Nower summed up the shift by saying anyone can now “have a casino or sports book in their pocket.”
For how sweepstakes casinos are treated in each state, see our state guide.
Rutgers’ release points readers who need support to the National Problem Gambling Helpline, 1-800-MY-RESET. Our responsible gaming page lists where to get help and how to set limits.