Children’s gambling-like experiences
A Penn State research project, supported by a 2026–27 College of IST seed grant, examines children’s exposure to online gambling and related risks, with a focus on harm reduction.
- Research area
- Youth digital environments and wellbeing
- Status
- Ongoing
- Funding
- Penn State College of Information Sciences and Technology Seed Grant Program: Risk Exposure and Harm Reduction in Children’s Online Gambling Award record
- Leadership
- PIs: Xinning Gui and Yubo Kou.
Building on the lab’s studies of teenagers’ gambling discussions on Reddit, gamblification on Twitch, and gambling-like design on Roblox, this project examines children’s exposure to online gambling and related risks, and how harm can be reduced. It is supported by a 2026–27 Penn State College of IST seed grant.
Example papers
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From Stream to Stake: Gamblification Practices and User Perceptions on Twitch
Yunhan Liu, Sam Moradzadeh, Qiurong Song, Yubo Kou, and Xinning Gui
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“I usually profit because I know when to stop”: Understanding Teenagers’ Risk Perception and Mitigation Strategies of Gambling from Reddit
Yunhan Liu, Elena Koung, Qiurong Song, Yubo Kou, and Xinning Gui
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“The System is Made to Inherently Push Child Gambling in my Opinion”: Child Safety, Monetization, and Moderation on Roblox
Yubo Kou, Rie Helene (Lindy) Hernandez, and Xinning Gui
★ Best Paper Honorable Mention