Report on Behavioral Addictions and Other Addictive Disorders: 2024

The Spanish Observatory on Drugs and Addictions and the Government Delegation for the National Plan on Drugs present a 2024 monographic report on behavioral addictions in Spain, covering gambling, problematic Internet use, gaming, cryptocurrency and stock-exchange gambling, pornography use, and admissions to treatment for behavioral addictions. The findings draw on two nationally representative surveys: EDADES, a household survey of people aged 15-64 (fieldwork February to June 2024, 26,878 valid questionnaires), and ESTUDES, a classroom survey of students aged 14-18 (2023 edition, 42,208 valid pupils). The treatment indicator covers outpatient admissions across Autonomous Communities.

In 2024, 53.8% of the population aged 15-64 reported gambling online and/or face-to-face in the last 12 months, a figure that has continued to decline since 2022. Online gambling reached 5.5% and face-to-face gambling 52.9%. Among students aged 14-18 in 2023, 21.5% reported gambling in the last 12 months, and 83.1% reported playing video games.

For problematic gambling, 1.4% of the 15-64 population scored as possible problematic gambling on the DSM-5 scale in 2024. Possible problematic Internet use stood at 3.7% of that population, peaking at 11.7% among 15-24-year-olds. In 2022, 4,670 admissions to behavioral addiction treatment were reported, of which 82.0% were for gambling addiction.