Understanding adolescent esports bettors: Are they a homogeneous group?

Abstract

With the rapid rise of competitive video gaming (esports), increased attention has been placed on understanding the profiles of youth who wager on esports. With adolescents being at increased risk of gambling problems and endorsing high rates of past year engagement in video games, there is a need for research investigating psychological and social correlates of adolescent esports bettors and to identify whether youth who engage in esports betting are a homogenous group. Survey responses were collected from 5,997 high-school students (48.4 % male, Mage = 14.7 years [SD = 1.6], age range 12–17) from Wood County, Ohio, United States. A latent class analysis was conducted to identify subgroups of esports bettors based on self-reported measures of gambling frequency, risk for problem gambling, gaming frequency, disordered gaming, preference for virtual life and risky loot box use. Results indicated that 5.5 % of the sample reported esports betting over the past year. Four classes of esports bettors were identified which were indicative of a group of low-risk esports bettors, a group of esports bettors at risk of gaming problems, a group of esports bettors at risk of gambling problems, and a group of esports bettors at high risk of both gambling and gaming problems. Although no significant differences based on sex and age were noted between the classes, differences were noted in experienced childhood adversity, mental health symptoms and problem behavior severity. Results are discussed in line with previous findings relevant to adolescent and adult esports betting.