Recreational Gamblers’ Perspective of Gambling: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to get insights on recreational gamblers’ behavior focusing on their attitudes and motivations. All forms of legal gambling are analyzed in order to take into account elements of differentiation eventually related to the intrinsic characteristics of each game. Three focus groups were conducted with eighteen gamblers who lived in a specific socio-cultural context and played different forms of gambling. The template method was used to analyze the findings and their implications. Results provide new insights on the topic extending what has emerged in prior research. First, people gamble to get rid of coins received as change. The humble value they represent and the bother of keeping them in a bulky pocket are sufficient motives to gamble them. Second, many legal games are not perceived as “gambling” and, more interestingly, gamblers do not feel themselves as gamblers. Third, the socializing function turns poker players into a postmodern tribe where they find their identification. Implication for social marketing policy are discussed with suggestions for future research.