Socio-demographic aspects and characteristics of gambling and betting among Bosniaks in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

In the last few years, gambling and betting opportunities have been increasing in Bosnia and Herzegovina, leading to an increase in pathological gambling. Pathological gambling is considered by experts to be an instinct control disorder, i.e. the inability to refrain from an instinct that at the same time causes pleasure to a person, but is also dangerous for them and the people around them as it seriously disrupts not only the physical, emotional, mental and material state of the individual, but affects their families and friends also. In order to examine the most common forms of gambling and betting as well as socio-demographic aspects and their characteristics among Bosniaks in BiH, in the period April-May 2019, on a sample of N = 1520 respondents, a survey was conducted in 62 municipalities in BiH. Respondents ranged from 18-77 years old, of whom 568 were women and 927 were men. While defining the sample for the purposes of this research, a two-stage stratification was performed, namely: stratification at the administrative level of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the type of settlement, respecting the principle of proportional representation of municipalities within entity/cantons. Data was collected via a structured face-to-face interviews with closed questions to which handwritten answers were given. The data collection was done through the Network of Youth and Directorate for Religious Affairs of the Riyasat of the Islamic Community in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The results suggest persisting differences in the perception of the most common forms of gambling and betting, where bingo, disposable lottery tickets/scrapers, lotto and sports betting are perceived to be the most common. The most widespread types of gambling are influenced by the socio-demographic variables such as gender, place of residence, level of education, age and monthly household income.