Hybrid Games Linked to Gambling Risk Among Teenagers
A study of 5,000 French teenagers aged 15 to 17 found that those who use hybrid digital games and real-money gambling together are more likely to fall into the highest risk group. The study shows an association, not proof that gambling-like game mechanics cause harm.
The French Association for the Prevention of Excessive Gambling conducted an online survey of 5,000 teenagers aged 15 to 17 as part of the ENJEU-Mineurs study. The surveys were carried out between August 29 and September 16, 2025. Participants were recruited through family panels with parental consent, and quotas for gender, age and region were weighted according to national statistics.
The study defined hybrid digital games as products that combine video games with mechanics resembling gambling. These include social casino games, free gambling demos, video games with gambling activities, loot boxes, fantasy sports, and Web3 or play-to-earn products. The term therefore does not cover video games as a whole.
39 percent of participants said they had used at least one hybrid digital game. Across the full sample, 15.6 percent said they had spent money on these games. Of those who used hybrid games, 58.8 percent also said they gambled with real money.
To measure gambling-related problems among young people, the study used the Canadian Adolescent Gambling Inventory. The share of respondents in the highest risk category was 26 percent among those who combined hybrid games with real-money gambling, compared with 3.9 percent among those who only gambled. These figures are not clinical diagnoses but the proportions classified in the highest band.
Of those who did both activities, 67.4 percent recalled playing free gambling-like games before gambling with real money. However, this figure does not mean that two-thirds of all young people followed this sequence. Because the information was collected retrospectively, neither causation nor a transition effect has been demonstrated.
In addition, 68.9 percent of hybrid game users said they had encountered messages encouraging them to gamble with real money. These messages reportedly came through social media and online games. The study's authors cautioned that the data rely on self-reporting and that online panels may overstate the rate of extreme behavior.
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