Old age constitutes a vulnerable stage for developing gambling-related problems. The aims of the study were to identify patterns of gambling habits in elderly participants from the general population, and to assess socio-demographic and clinical variables related to the severity of the gambling behaviours. The sample included N = 361 participants aged in the 50–90 years range. A broad assessment included socio-demographic variables, gambling profile and psychopathological state. The percentage of participants who reported an absence of gambling activities was 35.5 per cent, while 46.0 per cent reported only non-strategic gambling, 2.2 per cent only strategic gambling and 16.3 per cent both non-strategic plus strategic gambling. Gambling form with highest prevalence was lotteries (60.4%), followed by pools (13.9%) and bingo (11.9%). The prevalence of gambling disorder was 1.4 per cent, and 8.0 per cent of participants were at a problematic gambling level. Onset of gambling activities was younger for men, and male participants also reached a higher mean for the bets per gambling-episode and the number of total gambling activities. Risk factors for gambling severity in the sample were not being born in Spain and a higher number of cumulative lifetime life events, and gambling severity was associated with a higher prevalence of tobacco and alcohol abuse and with worse psychopathological state. Results are particularly useful for the development of reliable screening tools and for the design of effective prevention programmes.

老年是发展与赌博有关的问题的脆弱阶段。该研究的目的是确定普通人群中老年人的赌博习惯模式，并评估与赌博行为严重性有关的社会人口统计学和临床​​变量。样本包括N = 361位年龄在50-90岁范围内的参与者。一项广泛的评估包括社会人口统计学变量，赌博状况和心理病理状态。报称没有赌博活动的参与者比例为35.5％，而46.0％的人仅举报非战略性赌博，2.2％的是战略性赌博和16.3％的非战略性和战略性赌博。博彩率最高的赌博形式是彩票（60.4％），其次是彩池（13.9％）和宾果游戏（11.9％）。赌博障碍的患病率为1.4％，而有8.0％的参与者处于有问题的赌博水平。男性的赌博活动开始较年轻，男性参与者的每个赌博时段的赌注和全部赌博活动的次数也达到了较高的平均水平。样本中赌博严重性的危险因素不是在西班牙出生的，并且终生累积的生活事件数量较高，并且赌博严重性与较高的吸烟和酗酒率以及较差的心理病理状态有关。结果对于开发可靠的筛查工具和设计有效的预防方案特别有用。男性的赌博活动开始较年轻，男性参与者的每个赌博时段的赌注和全部赌博活动的次数也达到了较高的平均水平。样本中赌博严重性的危险因素不是在西班牙出生的，并且终生累积的生活事件数量较高，并且赌博严重性与较高的吸烟和酗酒率以及较差的心理病理状态有关。结果对于开发可靠的筛查工具和设计有效的预防方案特别有用。男性的赌博活动开始较年轻，男性参与者的每个赌博时段的赌注和全部赌博活动的次数也达到了较高的平均水平。样本中赌博严重性的危险因素不是在西班牙出生的，并且终生累积的生活事件数量较高，并且赌博严重性与较高的吸烟和酗酒率以及较差的心理病理状态有关。结果对于开发可靠的筛查工具和设计有效的预防方案特别有用。赌博的严重程度与吸烟和酗酒的患病率较高以及心理病理状态较差有关。结果对于开发可靠的筛查工具和设计有效的预防方案特别有用。赌博的严重程度与吸烟和酗酒的患病率较高以及心理病理状态较差有关。结果对于开发可靠的筛查工具和设计有效的预防方案特别有用。