Abstract
Tilting is a poker-related phenomenon that involves cognitive and emotional dysregulation in response to unfavourable gambling outcomes. Tilting is characterised by an increase in irrational, impulsive and strategically weak betting decisions. This study aimed to adapt and investigate the concept of tilting amongst sport bettors in order to provide preliminary insight regarding previously unexplored instances of maladaptive sports betting. The sample consisted of 225 sports bettors who completed an online questionnaire that investigated their reported tilting episodes, awareness of tilting, impulsivity, perceived skill, gambling severity, gambling frequency, and product preferences. Cluster analyses revealed three distinct groups of sports bettors based on their reported tilting episodes and their awareness of this phenomenon. The first group were labelled 'Conscious tilters' due to being cognizant of their own tilting occurrence which was significantly higher than the other two groups. These 'Conscious tilters' had the highest mean problem gambling severity that was indicative of the 'problem gambler' categorisation. The second group were labelled 'Unconscious tilters' due to their underestimation of their own tilting occurrence and were categorised as 'moderate risk gamblers'. The third group were labelled 'Non-tilters' due to a relatively accurate perception of their low to non-existent tilting occurrence and were categorised as 'low-risk gamblers'. Additionally, there were significant differences between these groups in relation to reported gambling frequency, impulsivity, and product preferences. There is evidence of various classifications of 'tilters' within sports betting. Specific sports betting product features may also facilitate tilting and therefore require further research in this context. It is important for this research area to develop in order to mitigate harms associated with the rapidly changing sport betting environment.
Highlights
IntroductionSports betting is a widely used mode of gambling that has seen a global increase in availability and complexity in recent years [1–4]
Differences in gambling frequency were not statistically significant between Cluster 3 and Cluster 2. These results indicate that there were significant differences observed between the clusters in relation to OPTS-9 scores, perceived tilting, Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) scores, SUPPS-P scores, and gambling frequency
In light of the behavioural and psychological characteristics that are encompassed by the concept of tilting, the current findings suggest that maladaptive sports betting can be investigated via the emergent paradigm of emotional and cognitive dysregulation
Summary
Sports betting is a widely used mode of gambling that has seen a global increase in availability and complexity in recent years [1–4]. Sports bettors may be vulnerable to gambling-related harm due to their distinct characteristics and specific cognitions compared to non-sports gamblers. These traits primarily include the tendency to emotionally invest in betting (due to team loyalty), acting impulsively, and misperceiving gambling-related risk [8–11]. An adaptable example of combining such constructs involves the poker-related phenomenon known as ’tilting’. This is defined as a state of frustration and irrationality when gambling due to experiencing repeated losses or being overwhelmed by strong negative emotions [12]. The concept of tilting encapsulates numerous cognitive-behavioural elements that are associated with gambling harm such as impulsivity, loss chasing, loss of control, emotional dysregulation, and irrational motives [11, 15, 16]
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