When gaming gets out of hand: Mental health issues associated with problematic gaming and gambling

Nowadays, digital technologies and screens are an integral part of our everyday lives – whether for work, communication, or entertainment. Among the leisure activities that have long attracted the attention of experts and the public are computer games and gambling. However, if these activities lose their healthy boundaries and become uncontrollable, they can take the form of so-called addictive disorders. Studies focusing on the co-occurrence of both problem behaviors and their connection to mental health issues are still rare, especially in representative samples of the general population. However, a recent study published in the Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, in which our Lukas Blinka participated, is now helping to fill this gap.

The team of authors, consisting of Kristīne Ozoliņa, Inese Gobiņa, Anda Ķīvīte-Urtāne, and Lukas Blinka, decided to investigate how widespread problematic video gaming and gambling are in Latvia and whether they are associated with depression and anxiety disorders. They were also interested in whether the combination of both problematic behaviors poses a higher risk of mental health problems than each of them separately. The authors worked with data from a representative survey that included 4,912 Latvian respondents aged 15–64 in 2018.

The two sides of gaming and gambling: protection against stress, or a path to depression and anxiety?

The results showed that 2.7% of the sample met the criteria for problematic video gaming, 3.7% suffered from problem gambling, and 0.8% exhibited both behaviors simultaneously. These problems were significantly more common in men than in women and in younger people, especially those aged 15–24. One of the main findings of the study is that people with problematic gaming or gambling were approximately three times more likely to experience depression and anxiety than the rest of the population. The authors explain this relationship, among other things, by the fact that depression and anxiety can be both risk factors and consequences of problem gambling – creating a vicious circle in which the individual tries to improve their mood by gambling or betting, but in the long run this can worsen their condition if they lose control of this behavior.

An interesting finding is that the combination of both problematic behaviors did not increase the likelihood of depression or anxiety more than each behavior separately. The authors speculate that these activities may be interchangeable to some extent—for example, when an individual becomes bored with one activity, they move on to another, thereby avoiding some of the negative effects that would result from intense focus on just one. This finding is important in the development of prevention and intervention programs, as it shows that even “switching” between problematic behaviors can be risky. On the other hand, it was found that people who gambled or bet recreationally, without signs of problematic behavior, had lower levels of depression and anxiety than those who did not engage in these activities at all. This may be explained by the positive effect of controlled entertainment on mood, stress reduction, and strengthening social contacts.

In their conclusion, the authors point out the need to monitor not only problem gaming and gambling separately, but also their possible combinations. They also emphasize the need for further research focusing on the differences between online and offline forms of these activities, specific types of games, and player motivations. Nevertheless, the study provides important insights for public health and mental well-being—and not only in Latvia.

Recommended citation:

Ozoliņa, K., Gobiņa, I., Ķīvīte-Urtāne, A., & Blinka, L. (2025). Problematic gaming, problem gambling: co-occurrence and association with depression and generalised anxiety disorder among working-age adults in Latvia. Nordic Journal of Psychiatry, 79(4), 297–302. https://doi.org/10.1080/08039488.2025.2494838