Concentration of gambling spending by product type: analysis of gambling accounts records in Norway

Abstract

Background Most previous studies on the distribution of gambling losses were based on self-reported data. In this study, we employed tracking data (i.e. electronic betting records) to examine the concentration of gambling losses and whether concentration varies by product type. Method Tracking data were provided by the Norwegian gambling monopolist, Norsk Tipping (NT). Data comprised of 14 different games for a random draw of 2% (N = 39 995) of all NT’s customers in 2019. We applied three measures of concentration of gambling losses: the mean to median ratio, the Gini coefficient, and the proportion of total losses accounted for by the upper 1%, 5% or 10% of those who gamble. Results Across the 14 games, the mean/median ratio was 2.22, ranging from 1.37 to 17.48 for the different games, whereas the overall Gini coefficient was 0.65, ranging from 0.55 to 0.90. The upper 1%, 5% and 10% of those who gamble accounted for 17.9% (range = 5.6 − 3 8.3%), 39.5% (range = 23.6 − 74.3%), and 52.2% (range = 37.9 − 86.9%) of the losses, respectively. High concentration of losses was especially pronounced for one type of lottery (Keno), two online casino games (KongKasino and Bingoria), and for two sports betting games (Oddsen and Tipping). These findings were consistent across measures. Conclusion Overall, the results lend strong support to the notion that a disproportionately large fraction of gambling losses are accounted for by a relatively small minority of people and that concentration of losses varies by product type.