A systematic review of the prevalence of ADHD and autism among those experiencing gambling harm.

BACKGROUND

There is a growing body of research reporting complex correlations between neurodivergence and gambling - raising concern about targeted predatory gambling practices of operators, underlining the urgency for specialised harm prevention and reduction measures. This review provides new estimates of the prevalence of ADHD and autism in individuals experiencing gambling harm.

METHODS

We performed a systematic review using frameworks by Munn et al. (2015), reviewing peer-reviewed observational studies across 4 databases - MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and PubMed, searched on the 21st of May 2025. Results from each database were uploaded to Covidence as a RIS file to be screened and extracted. A meta-analysis was conducted included studies reporting ADHD data using a random effects model to estimate pooled prevalence, while included studies reporting data on autism had a narrative summary of their results.

RESULTS

Our analysis included 14 studies, 2 of which reported autism data. The prevalence for ADHD in gambling harm was 0.24 (95 % CI 0.18; 0.29) or 24 %, compared with a prevalence of 2.58 % in the general population (Song et al., 2021). The data had a high rate of heterogeneity, suggesting the results of our meta-analysis may be inflated due to some studies reporting higher rates than others.

CONCLUSION

Elevated prevalence of ADHD in those experiencing gambling harms is suggested by the results of this review. While autism is plausibly equally as important, more research is needed in this area to better understand the likely prevalence of this condition for those experiencing gambling harm.