Profiling the Esports Bettor

Abstract

While esports betting is becoming a big business worldwide, scientific studies primarily focus on an Anglo-Saxon perspective to understand the phenomenon and its users. In this cross-sectional online survey study, we therefore investigated the esports betting profile and motivations of Dutch-speaking, European adults playing or watching video games. We conceptually replicated the American esports bettor profile to the study of Abarbanel, Macey, Hamari, and Melton (2020) in a European context, assessed the robustness of our replication with gambling-behavioral variables, and used an adapted version of the Modified Gambling Motivations Scale to unravel EU-esports bettors’ most salient betting motives. Our results reveal that the America-oriented esports bettor profile cannot be replicated in our European sample, making us question whether socio-demographics, such as gender and age, and gameplay-related variables such as video gaming frequency are robust correlates of esports betting participation. Instead, these findings suggest that involvement in esports spectatorship and the breadth and depth of participation in other gambling activities deliver the most accurate predictions, and that esports bettors are mostly driven by intrinsically- and extrinsically-oriented motives such as excitement, intellectual challenge, and monetary gain. This study may form a starting point for future research into the measurement, targeting, and regulation of esports, and gambling-related ‘at risk’ behaviors and audiences, within the European Union.