The Danish Gambling Authority launches a research project on youth, gaming and gambling

26, Jun 2020

In cooperation with VIVE (Danish National Research and Analysis Center for Welfare), The Danish Gambling Authority has launched a research project on young people and their relations to gaming. The project is expected to be completed in spring 2021.

The research project is part of the political agreement “Agreement on new initiatives against compulsive gambling and adjustments to the gambling agreement” from June 2018.

The aim of the project is to examine the role of gambling in relation to young people's gaming. The purpose is to gain new knowledge about children and young people’s online gaming in relation to gambling. The project will focus on online games and in particular on how children and young people experience and act in connection to gambling-related elements in online games.

Qualitative interviews
The research project will provide a scientifically grounded and systematic insight into how gaming is incorporated into the lives of children and young people, as well as how gambling-related elements in gaming and on different platforms (e.g. on PCs, smartphones, tablets, PlayStation) affect the gaming experience and everyday life. The importance of microtransactions (small, in-game purchases) and how they influence the gaming experience will also be considered.

The research project will use qualitative methods to generate data on children and young people's gaming on different platforms. This will be done through the collection of knowledge through interviews among children and young people (13-19-year-olds). In addition, a special subgroup of young adults (20-25-year-olds) who have experienced serious gaming and / or gambling problems and who suffer from or have suffered from actual gambling addiction is included.

The research project will result in a report. In addition, the project may generate a number of scientific articles. The project is expected to be completed in the spring of 2021 (due to the Covid-19 situation, the project has been delayed by a few months).