Gambling Profiles Research Articles

Does user activity promote gambling-related content on Twitter/X?

Social media has provided gambling operators with access to millions of individuals and novel ways to promote gambling. Research has suggested that exposure to gambling advertisements on social media platforms is associated with increased gambling in individuals at-risk for problem gambling. These findings bring into question whether social media platforms are sensitive to differences in user account activity (e.g., tweets, likes, accounts visited) when displaying promoted advertisements and gambling-related content. To assess for these differences, four Twitter/X accounts were created and assigned to send out tweets containing pro-gambling or safe-gambling messages. Additionally, each account was assigned to interact with Twitter/X profiles associated with gambling operators or responsible gambling. Accounts were assessed daily for promoted advertisement traffic and gambling-related content from January to March 2022. The study included three phases that implemented changes in privacy settings, websites visited, and gambling-related tweets observed. To assess for between-phase differences, Tau-U analyses were performed using R. Gambling-related content observed was dependent on assigned account activity. Accounts that interacted with gambling operators’ profiles were only displayed pro-gambling content. Conversely, accounts that interacted with responsible gambling profiles were only displayed safe-gambling content. No promoted gambling advertisements were observed throughout the study. Findings suggest that Twitter/X is sensitive to differences in account activity, and user activity may influence gambling content displayed on Twitter/X. Nevertheless, gambling operators should adopt a conservative approach on social media to ensure protection of consumers. Consumers should be given autonomy to engage with gambling content without being drawn in involuntarily.

The symbolic construction of sports betting products

ABSTRACT Numerous studies have explored the specific risk factors of sports betting attending to the singularities of sports bettors. However, many of these are also present in other gambling profiles (e.g. younger age, males, higher education, skill-based gambling) and fail to tackle the essentially distinguishing trait of sports betting, namely, its symbolic association with sport. This conceptual paper argues that sports betting draws from a rich pool of meanings from professional sport that influences how sports betting products are understood. It argues that, unlike other gambling products whose symbolic covering has to be built after, sports betting relies on a preexisting symbolic pool that structures its social significance. Sport confers to sports betting attributes of agency, control, and skill that make betting products more skill-oriented and less chance-based, but also other attributes of health, game, fun, and nature that decrease the perceived risks associated with sports betting. The paper contends that the symbolic association of sport and sports betting poses particular barriers for treatment of gambling disorder in the form of resistant cognitions about winning because professional sport embodies narratives of success deeply engraved in modern society, to an extent other gambling forms cannot compete in creating via their marketing strategies.

Gambling and Problem Gambling in Canada in 2018: Prevalence and Changes Since 2002.

The purpose of this study was to provide an updated profile of gambling and problem gambling in Canada and to examine how the rates and pattern of participation compare to 2002. An assessment of gambling and problem gambling was included in the 2018 Canadian Community Health Survey and administered to 24,982 individuals aged 15 and older. The present analyses selected for adults (18+). A total of 66.2% of people reported engaging in some type of gambling in 2018, primarily lottery and/or raffle tickets, the only type in which the majority of Canadians participate. There are some significant interprovincial differences, with perhaps the most important one being the higher rate of electronic gambling machine (EGM) participation in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. The overall pattern of gambling in 2018 is very similar to 2002, although participation is generally much lower in 2018, particularly for EGMs and bingo. Only 0.6% of the population were identified as problem gamblers in 2018, with an additional 2.7% being at-risk gamblers. There is no significant interprovincial variation in problem gambling rates. The interprovincial pattern of problem gambling in 2018 is also very similar to what was found in 2002 with the main difference being a 45% decrease in the overall prevalence of problem gambling. Gambling and problem gambling have both decreased in Canada from 2002 to 2018 although the provincial patterns are quite similar between the 2 time periods. Several mechanisms have likely collectively contributed to these declines. Decreases have also been reported in several other Western countries in recent years and have occurred despite the expansion of legal gambling opportunities, suggesting a degree of inoculation or adaptation in large parts of the population.

Corrigendum: Phenotypes in Gambling Disorder Using Sociodemographic and Clinical Clustering Analysis: An Unidentified New Subtype?

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2019.00173.].

Phenotypes in Gambling Disorder Using Sociodemographic and Clinical Clustering Analysis: An Unidentified New Subtype?

Background: Gambling disorder (GD) is a heterogeneous disorder which has clinical manifestations that vary according to variables in each individual. Considering the importance of the application of specific therapeutic interventions, it is essential to obtain clinical classifications based on differentiated phenotypes for patients diagnosed with GD.Objectives: To identify gambling profiles in a large clinical sample of n = 2,570 patients seeking treatment for GD.Methods: An agglomerative hierarchical clustering method defining a combination of the Schwarz Bayesian Information Criterion and log-likelihood was used, considering a large set of variables including sociodemographic, gambling, psychopathological, and personality measures as indicators.Results: Three-mutually-exclusive groups were obtained. Cluster 1 (n = 908 participants, 35.5%), labeled as “high emotional distress,” included the oldest patients with the longest illness duration, the highest GD severity, and the most severe levels of psychopathology. Cluster 2 (n = 1,555, 60.5%), labeled as “mild emotional distress,” included patients with the lowest levels of GD severity and the lowest levels of psychopathology. Cluster 3 (n = 107, 4.2%), labeled as “moderate emotional distress,” included the youngest patients with the shortest illness duration, the highest level of education and moderate levels of psychopathology.Conclusion: In this study, the general psychopathological state obtained the highest importance for clustering.

Nonmonetary Decision-Making Indices Discriminate Between Different Behavioral Components of Gambling.

Recent research has proposed that altered reward and punishment sensitivity, heightened impulsivity, and faulty dynamic decision-making are at the core of disordered gambling. However, each of these traits and cognitive aspects dimensionally vary in the normal population, such that the link between individual differences in these dimensions and gambling use can be ultimately informative to explain disordered gambling. The main aim of the present study was to investigate the contribution of such decision-making-related indices to gambling use parameters in a community sample of college students. Assessment included punishment and reward sensitivity (as measured by the shortened Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire), impulsivity (as measured by the UPPS-P model and a motor inhibition Go/No-go task), and dynamic decision-making [as measured by the probabilistic reversal learning task (PRLT)]. A structured interview was conducted to explore quantitative aspects of the participants gambling habits (gambling presence, gambling frequency, and average amount of money spent in gambling per unit of time). Our results showed the existence of a decision-making profile of gambling, as it naturally occurs in college students, in which sensation seeking is directly and specifically related to gambling presence (gambling, or not gambling at all), punishment sensitivity is inversely related to gambling frequency, and inflexibility in the PRLT specifically predicts the losses accrued because of gambling. These results are compatible with the idea that sensation seeking and punishment insensitivity could increase exposure to gambling activities, whereas reversal learning inflexibility, in people who already gamble, could boost the risk to accumulate losses.

Comparison between Immigrant and Spanish Native-Born Pathological Gambling Patients

The study compared clinical, psychopathological, and personality profiles between immigrants and Spanish native-born pathological gambling patients. A total of 1,601 native-born and 133 immigrant patients attending treatment at a specialized hospital unit were administered a battery of questionnaires during clinical assessment. Outcome measures were compared between both groups and the incremental predictive accuracy of the area of origin was examined using a regression model. Native-born Spaniards showed a mean 2.6 yr. greater duration of the disorder, while immigrants scored higher on South Oaks Gambling Screen, frequency of going to casinos, and total money spent (in a single day and/or to recover losses). General psychopathology and personality scores did not differ between the cohorts. However, immigration from Asia had a statistically significantly incremental validity for pathological gambling in South Oaks Gambling Screen scores. Both cohorts shared more similarities than differences in their gambling profiles.

The gambling profiles of Canadians young and old: game preferences and play frequencies

Similar to many other countries, Canada has witnessed a growing concern over gambling problems population and the potential for related negative consequences. Research results thus far highlight the heterogeneity of the problem gamblers and suggest game preferences may distinguish gambler types. This study entails an exploratory analysis of the gambling typologies and profiles of Canadians based on game frequency and preferences through latent class analysis, using a nationally representative Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS 1.2). The results showed that the survey respondents could be partitioned into eight latent classes/subtypes that represent distinct gambling profiles. The classes could be ordered with respect to the extent to which class members are affected by an increased prevalence of gambling problems with marked differences between the classes in terms of their demographic makeup. The ordering of classes and its correspondence to problem gambling severity supports the notion of a problem gambling continuum.

The relationship between recreational gambling and substance abuse/dependence: Data from a nationally representative sample

Background Although recreational gambling is prevalent and co-occurs with substance abuse/dependence, few studies have investigated the relationship between the two. Methods Logistic regression analyses were performed on data from a nationally representative sample from the Gambling Impact and Behavior Study. Results Substance-abusing recreational gamblers, as compared to non-substance-abusing ones, differed in gambling motivations, began gambling at earlier ages, reported heavier gambling, and preferred and performed strategic forms of gambling. Conclusions As compared with non-substance-abusing gamblers, substance-abusing gamblers demonstrated different gambling profiles including heavier gambling. These findings suggest the need for additional research on whether and how substance use might promote gambling and vice versa.

Pathological Gamblers Demonstrate Frontal Lobe Impairment Consistent With That of Methamphetamine-Dependent Individuals

Using tests that are frequently administered by neuropsychologists, the authors investigated whether pathological gambling is associated with frontal lobe abnormalities. The sample comprised 10 pathological gamblers, 25 methamphetamine-dependent subjects, and 19 matched comparison subjects. The pathological gamblers and methamphetamine-dependent subjects performed significantly less well than comparison subjects, and the gamblers' test scores were comparable to those of the methamphetamine-dependent participants. The overall magnitude of the effect size was large. These findings demonstrate that the severity of frontal lobe dysfunction in pathological gambling is similar to that observed in methamphetamine-dependent individuals on frequently used clinical measures.

The Pomo : A Profile of Gambling Among Indians

The Pomo : A Profile of Gambling Among Indians