The presentation will put forward a new model to explain the intergenerational transmission (or non-genetic inheritance) of problem gambling. It is part of a current project that asks, what social processes lead to the higher-than-average rates of problem gambling among children of problem gamblers? In other words, under what conditions do some children of problem gamblers “inherit” their parents’ problem; and under what conditions does the problem fail to be transmitted to other children? The proposed research represents a synthesis of several key concerns. There is ample evidence that problem gambling, like other forms of addiction such as alcoholism, is “inherited” in the sense that it is found disproportionately among the children of parents with that problem. I will argue that genetic and purely psychological explanations are insufficient. Our understanding of the sociological mechanisms involved in the intergenerational transmission of problem gambling is underdeveloped. However, several factors have been identified as playing a role, including social learning, acceptability, and opportunity – as per the social learning hypothesis – and stress, coping, parenting and mental health – as per the childhood distress hypothesis. As well, current stresses and coping strategies must be considered. However, conflicting evidence exists as to which hypothesis is supported most strongly. Therefore, the current research addresses the need to consider all of these factors simultaneously. Our research uses qualitative and quantitative data to explore the relative strength of factors involved in both the social learning and the childhood distress hypotheses. Further, the issue of parentification – children parenting parents – has rarely been considered as a factor in the development of problem gambling. We intend to address this deficiency by determining whether parentification plays a role in the transmission of problem gambling.