When the Game Is the Gamble: How Gambling Simulators Are Reaching Young Players
This video came across my radar while I was researching gambling addiction and recovery material on YouTube. The author is a popular Hindi YouTuber by the name of ProBoii, a channel with 2.25 million subscribers. As I'm writing this, the video has nearly 1 million views since it was posted only five days ago.
The title: "I BECAME A GAMBLING ADDICT!"
After translating the auto captions on YouTube and watching parts of it, my thoughts immediately went to: "What is the material impact games like this have on the players who play them, the audience of streamers who watch them, and more importantly — what are the consequences of this influence on the young demographic who plays or watches these games?"
The Game: KEEP GAMBLING
In December 2025, a first-person gambling simulator called KEEP GAMBLING launched on Steam at a price of $7.77 — a deliberate nod to slot machine lucky sevens. Players buy scratch-off tickets at convenience stores, feed slot machines, spiral into debt, and try to claw their way back — complete with a heart rate monitor that rises with each bet and a debt counter that never lets you forget.
Developed by WIRED FEELINGS, a two-person Canadian studio, the game doesn't stop at gambling. It also simulates substance abuse and overdoses as gameplay mechanics — players can drink alcohol to "increase fortune," pop pills, and overdose. The developer's own content description acknowledges "non-realistic depictions of violence, frequent gambling themes and mechanics, use of illegal drugs - including overdoses, alcohol consumption, and strong language." The game carries no age gate beyond Steam's standard account requirements.
Three months later, Scritchy Scratchy arrived: a scratch-off idle clicker that Kotaku called "lotto scratching without the shame." It joined Scratchers, an incremental card game, and a library of nearly 900 gambling-tagged titles on Steam — a number that has grown sharply since 2024.
The Numbers: Youth Gambling Is Already Here
The timing of these games matters. A January 2026 Common Sense Media survey of more than 1,000 American boys aged 11 to 17 found that 36 percent had gambled in the past year — a stat we covered in our news section. Among 17-year-olds, the figure rose to nearly 50 percent. Most of their parents had no idea.
NPR's March 2026 reporting on Gen Z and gambling highlighted how products designed for constant engagement — including video games — are creating unique vulnerabilities in young people who have grown up with smartphones in hand. Massachusetts gambling hotline referrals for people in their 20s and 30s have more than doubled since the state legalized sports betting in 2023.
What the Research Says
Academic research has been converging on a clear pattern. A peer-reviewed study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that adolescents who play simulated gambling games are at "heightened risk of gambling problems" — a risk that rises further among those who spend real money in those games.
A 2023 qualitative study in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction reported that young people often fail to recognize simulated gambling as gambling at all. One participant said flatly: "It doesn't give off the gambling vibes. It just feels like a part of the game."
A 2025 longitudinal study using Irish cohort data examined whether childhood gaming predicts young-adult gambling, testing what researchers call the "gateway hypothesis."
Beyond Simulators: Loot Boxes and Gacha
The pipeline extends beyond standalone simulators. Loot boxes and gacha mechanics — randomized reward systems embedded in mainstream titles — function as gambling's Trojan horse. A cross-sectional study found that 44 percent of surveyed young players had spent money on loot boxes, and those purchasers showed higher rates of both internet gaming disorder and problem gambling.
The in-game gambling and loot box market is projected to reach $36.2 billion by 2032, up from $22.7 billion in 2025. Belgium and the Netherlands have classified loot boxes as illegal gambling. The United States has no uniform legislation.
Why This Matters
The concern is not that a $7.77 scratch-card simulator will bankrupt a teenager. It is that simulated gambling builds familiarity, inflates perceived odds of winning, and normalizes the behavioral loop of risk and reward — all before a young person ever walks into a real casino or downloads a sportsbook app.
Neither KEEP GAMBLING nor its developer WIRED FEELINGS include any gambling addiction disclaimer or link to recovery resources. No responsible gambling message. No hotline number. Nothing.
With 85 percent of American teens playing video games and nearly 900 gambling titles on Steam alone, the exposure surface is enormous. Researchers, regulators, and parents are only beginning to reckon with what that means.
Sources & Citations
- WIRED FEELINGS. KEEP GAMBLING. Steam, December 2025. store.steampowered.com/app/3720460
- ProBoii. "I BECAME A GAMBLING ADDICT!" YouTube, April 2026. youtube.com/watch?v=bbrkZIpceBM
- Funday Games. Scritchy Scratchy. Steam. Reviewed by Kotaku: "New Hit Steam Game Lets Me Enjoy Scratch-Off Lotto Tickets Without Feeling Terrible." kotaku.com
- Common Sense Media. "More teens are getting hooked on gambling. Parents say it often goes undetected." NPR, April 5, 2026. npr.org · Also indexed in our News section
- NPR. "Gen Z's relationship with gambling and the unique vulnerabilities it faces." March 21, 2026. npr.org · Also indexed in our News section
- NPR. "The rising cost of online betting addiction among young people." February 14, 2026. npr.org · Also indexed in our News section
- "Adolescent simulated gambling participation: heightened risk of gambling problems." International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. PubMed Central
- "It doesn't give off the gambling vibes: youth perceptions of simulated gambling." International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 2023. Springer Link
- "Childhood gaming and young-adult gambling: testing the gateway hypothesis." Irish longitudinal cohort study, 2025. ScienceDirect
- "Loot boxes, gaming disorder, and problem gambling among young people." Cross-sectional study. Taylor & Francis Online
- Future Market Insights. "In-Game Gambling and Loot Box Market Forecast 2025-2032." futuremarketinsights.com
- Belgian Gaming Commission. "Research Report on Loot Boxes." 2018 ruling classifying loot boxes as illegal gambling.
- Pew Research Center. "Teens, Social Media and Technology 2024" — 85% of teens play video games.
For peer-reviewed clinical research on gambling disorder, see our Peer-Reviewed Research section. For ongoing news coverage, see In the News.
If you or someone you know is struggling with gambling, find a virtual GA meeting — available 24/7, no signup required. You can also reach the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-522-4700.