It started with a night at the casino with his friends when he had just started studying. ‘I loved the atmosphere; the coloured lights, everyone around you hoping to have a good time. There’s something special about it’, says Rick, now doing a master in history. 

He knows that, on average, he will leave the casino with less money than when he went in. Yet he keeps coming back. ‘It’s about that chance’, he says with conviction. ‘That spark of hope that you might win. Sure, it sucks when you do end up losing. I could have used the money to buy a new pair of trousers, for instance. But I could have won! It’s that feeling that keeps me coming back.’ 

Online gambling

Rick isn’t the only student with a love of gambling. In April 2024, the Trimbos Institute found that a relatively large  number of young adults participate in online games of chance. Betting on sports matches is especially popular. A small survey held by UKrant among 180 students, Holland Casino was the most popular location among those who gamble, followed by betting on sports and online gambling sites. 

I know I can’t win it back, I’ve seen friends try and fail

Ever since online gambling was legalised in 2021, commercials for gambling sites have popped up everywhere. This has had consequences: since 2022, the number of people getting help for addiction has increased after years of the number decreasing, according to the national alcohol and drugs database LADIS. Gambling sites being legal does not mean that gambling no longer leads to problems.

Rick found this out the hard way. He decided to use the money he made from his supermarket job to speculate, which counts as a form of gambling. ‘I wanted to make my money work for me by getting into CFDs’, he says. ‘It means Contract For Difference. It’s when you speculate on a share price without actually owning the share.’

For a while, everything seemed okay: Rick was actually making a profit. So he kept going, in the hopes of making more money, but then the tide turned. ‘I just kept losing money. At first, I tried to make it back, but it was pretty much useless.’ 

In the end, he lost 2,000 euros. ‘I lost everything’, he says. ‘That was a tough lesson to learn.’

Selling furniture

In the UKrant survey, respondents said they don’t gamble overly large amounts; usually no more than 500 euros. However, some of them will gamble up to 2,000 euros at a time. UG staff member Yoeri (30), who started betting on football matches online as a student, could see the effects gambling had on the people around him. ‘Some of them had to sell their furniture just to pay bills. That’s just taking it too far.’ 

He’s never lost large amounts of money himself, but when he does lose money, he’s always upset. ‘After a mistake like that, I’m cured of my gambling needs for a few weeks’, he says. ‘I know I can’t win it back, I’ve seen friends try and fail. I just accept the loss.’

Should society be worried about students gambling? Not really, says Willem Hilberts, prevention officer at the Centre for Addiction Care for the Northern Netherlands (VNN). He regularly talks to young people who gamble a lot. However, there is a difference between gambling a lot and a gambling addiction, he says. ‘When you’re addicted, it disrupts your entire life, in part because of the financial issues it causes. It’s on your mind twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.’

Sports matches

But normalising gambling and its omnipresence can cause young people to ultimately get in trouble. It usually starts with sports matches. One in three gambling students who filled out the survey said they prefer to bet on sports, preferably with their roommates.

The look on a loser’s face is worth every penny

‘On the weekends, we like to get together and watch football’, says student Stijn. ‘Everyone bets a certain amount. How much and who joins varies. It’s that extra bit of tension that makes the match even more fun. I also gamble online sometimes, on the pools, but that isn’t nearly as much fun as doing it with friends.’

Thomas agrees. ‘We usually bet only 10 or 20 euros each. I don’t really care about the money itself, really. It’s the look on someone’s face when they know they’re going to lose their money. That’s worth every penny.’

Isa has seen those looks a few times in her student house. ‘It’s mainly the boys who do it. Every week, they’re betting on one match or another, usually football. Some of them win or lose 100 euros. I think they’re taking it quite far, but there’s nothing I can do to stop them’, she says. 

Dopamine hit

Betting on sports matches is called long-odds gambling; you won’t know until later whether you’ve won, Hilberts with the VNN explains. However, when gambling takes hold of them, young people tend to make the switch to short-odds gambling, like websites that immediately show whether you’ve won or lost.

That’s where the danger lies. The tension of playing and winning cause a dopamine hit in the brain, which gives people a rush. ‘Every time you bet money, you get that same dopamine hit’, says Hilberts. ‘Since everything happens really quickly in short-odds gambling, your brain immediately wants more.’

If you gamble more often, your brain starts anticipating these hits, and this could especially cause problems for young people. ‘Before twenty-five, impulse regulation in the brain hasn’t fully developed yet’, says Hilberts. ‘This makes the urge to bet a little more money almost impossible to resist.’

Shame

Most survey respondents said they have their gambling behaviour under control. 83 percent said they don’t gamble more than they can afford. 74 percent said they know exactly when to stop. 

However, 5 percent said they gamble too much and occasionally lose all control, while 21 percent said they ‘sometimes’ get caught up in the moment. 20 percent of gamblers sometimes feel shame and guilt.

The urge to gamble a little more is almost impossible to resist

This is perfectly normal, says Hilberts. ‘Not too long ago, I spoke to a young man who gambled away his entire salary for the month. People tend to feel bad and keep it all to themselves.’ 

Yoeri recognises this behaviour. ‘Gambling in and of itself isn’t taboo’, he says. ‘But losing money from gambling is. I’ve noticed my friends tend to brush it aside, but it’s important to be open about it. If you don’t want to talk to your parents, go talk to a friend. People actually like it if you confide in them.’

Rick doesn’t gamble much anymore, although he does think about it a lot. ‘I just moved out of my student house and live on my own now, so I don’t have a lot of spending money. I’m not going to gamble money I don’t have. But I’ve noticed that the need to gamble resurfaces when I’m stressed or there’s something going on in my life.’

Anyone afraid to lean on friends or family is always welcome at VNN, Hilberts emphasises. ‘At VNN, you can talk to people who won’t judge you and who can help you come up with what to do next’, he says. ‘Please don’t hesitate to come to us, we’re here for everyone.’

Dutch