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ABSTRACT
Background: Gambling is a risky behaviour that involves uncertain financial outcomes, can be addictive, and has been associated with strongly adverse social and public health outcomes. We wanted to assess whether socio-economic and gambling-related-opportunity environments of neighbourhoods affected the uptake of video lottery terminal (VLT) gambling among Montréal youth.
Methods: Spatial and statistical analyses were conducted to examine geographical patterns of neighbourhood socio-economic conditions, VLT sites (n=407), and high school locations (n=305) within the Montréal Census Metropolitan Area (CMA). VLT concentration within high school neighbourhoods was measured to examine how the number of VLT opportunities varies according to socio-economic status of the school neighbourhood. A student survey was analyzed using logistic regression analysis to explore the role of individual (student) characteristics and environmental (neighbourhood) characteristics in predicting the VLT gambling behaviours reported among a sample (n=1206) of high school students.
Results: Video lottery gambling opportunities are more prevalent near schools located in socio-economically deprived neighbourhoods compared with schools located in more affluent neighbourhoods. The principal individual risk factors for VLT gambling were shown to be male sex, peer VLT-use, substance use, as well as the after-school routines of youth.
Interpretation: The spatial distribution of VLTs reflects local geographies of socio-economic disadvantage and may have a pronounced impact on students attending schools in lower income neighbourhoods, especially those with individual risk factors. Efforts to reduce gambling-related public health costs may want to take into account the socio-spatial distribution of gambling opportunities, particularly in the local environments that youth frequent.
MeSH terms: Adolescent behaviour; gambling; risk-taking; social conditions; school characteristics; video lottery terminals (VLTs)
Gambling is a risky behaviour that involves uncertain financial outcomes, can be highly addictive, and has been associated with strongly adverse social and public health outcomes.1-4 This paper scrutinizes the distribution of video lottery gambling sites in Montréal and its suburbs in an effort to better understand the social and spatial patterning of gambling opportunities in relation to youth environments. Moreover, we aim to reveal how both individual and contextual risk factors influence the likelihood of gambling among vulnerable youth populations. There is general consensus among public health researchers and practitioners that the social environment plays a substantial role in shaping the health-related behaviours and overall health status of populations.5-9 The...