ANJ: 26.0% of teens who game and gamble score high on risk, vs 3.9%

Four in ten French teenagers aged 15 to 17 (39.0%) played at least one game that blends video gaming and gambling in the 12 months before the survey, according to a study by the research body ARPEJ with the Autorité nationale des jeux (ANJ), France’s gambling regulator. The ANJ published the results, called ENJEU-Mineurs 2025, on 19 October 2026.

The study calls these titles “hybrid digital games”. It covers six types: social casino games (casino-style apps where players pay for credits but win no money), free demo games copying gambling, video games with gambling-style features, loot boxes (paid mystery items), fantasy sports and Web3 play-to-earn games.

By the numbers

• Played any hybrid game: 39.0%; boys 42.4%, girls 35.4%.
• Most common: video games with casino elements (26.3%), free trial games on casino platforms (18.1%) and social casino games (16.6%).
• Spent money: 15.6% of those players. Fewer than 10% spent in social casino games or in games with loot boxes.
• Social casino players who spend: 19.4% put in more than €50 a month. Among loot box buyers, 38.7% spend under €10 a month.
• Also gamble for money: 58.8% of hybrid game players.

What the study found on risk

The study measured risk with the Canadian adolescent gambling inventory. Among teenagers who play both hybrid games and gambling games, 26.0% had a high severity score, against 3.9% of those who only gamble.

Among mixed players, 40.7% of those who spend money in hybrid games had a high score, against 14.1% of those who play without spending.

In all, 68.9% of teenage players said they saw ads urging them to bet on gambling, mostly on social networks, TikTok and Instagram. The qualitative part of the study suggests some casino-style games can be a way into real-money gambling.

The details

• The qualitative research says the shift from free to paid play is helped by publishers’ design choices and by the lack of age checks.
• It lists rare random rewards, immersive sound and visual effects, notifications, time-limited events and staged reward openings as tactics to keep teenagers engaged.
• Teenagers showed biases seen in gambling, such as an illusion of control and difficulty quitting.
• ARPEJ’s director general Emmanuel Benoit said parents should be at the centre of prevention.
• ANJ president Pascal Chèvremont said the study documents the “gamblification” of games that minors play, meaning gambling mechanics added to other activities. He linked it to discussion of Web3 offers such as JONUM, under the experiment run under France’s SREN law.

The big picture

The ANJ also reported on 15 October that online games supplied all of the French market’s first-half growth in 2026.