Gambling Research Research Articles

WAGERING IN AUSTRALIA: A RETROSPECTIVE BEHAVIOURAL ANALYSIS OF BETTING PATTERNS BASED ON PLAYER ACCOUNT DATA

Gambling research often relies on self-report and cross-sectional data which is limited by inaccuracies in recall. Analysis of behavioural data is necessary to advance conceptual understandings of gambling. This paper analysed player account data of 11,394 customers of a large Australian wagering operator over a ten-year period to investigate characteristics and betting patterns of account holders. Comparisons were made between players based on the total number of bets placed. More frequent bettors (those with greater total bet frequency counts), made smaller bets, but bet greater total amounts and lost smaller proportions as compared to less frequent bettors. Less frequent bettors bet larger single bets and lost a greater proportion of their total amounts bet. A minority of bettors accounted for a disproportionately high number of bets but lost the lowest proportion of these. The results indicate that players exhibit differential patterns of betting and subgroups of gamblers can be identified and appropriately targeted with player education and responsible gambling strategies.

National gambling experiences in the United States: will history repeat itself?

ABSTRACTAims The aim of this paper is to offer an account of the history and current status of gambling research in the United States.Methods A review of the literature.Results Gambling has been a part of society in the United States since its early history. However, it was not until 1980 that the medical profession in the United States first recognized pathological gambling as a psychiatric disorder. Today, it is still rarely diagnosed or treated, and relatively little federal funding is available to support research in this area. With the upcoming fifth revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, pathological gambling is likely to be included alongside substance use disorders as the first non‐substance‐related addictive disorder. This change may represent an opportunity to expand research on gambling and treatment of pathological gambling.Conclusions We provide 10 suggestions for reducing societal and personal harm associated with this disorder.

Pathways to excessive gambling: A societal perspective on youth and adult gambling pursuits

Although Australia is, in population and economic terms, a relatively small country compared with many of the other G-20 countries, it is a major player in the area of gambling. It is well known that Australians have the highest per capita expenditure on gambling of any country in the world. Several Australian companies are leading innovators in gaming machine technology, and gambling-related taxation (particularly from gaming machines) provides a crucial source of revenue for state governments. Gambling is a major feature of everyday community life in Australia. With the exception of Western Australia, most community clubs and hotels in Australia have gaming machines and other gambling facilities. It is, therefore, very difficult for Australians to avoid being exposed to opportunities to gamble when they go out for drinks, to social functions, or on family outings at licensed venues. Over 70 percent of Australian adults gamble at least once per year, and this behaviour often starts early, because young people grow up in families where gambling is seen as an acceptable and enjoyable part-time and social activity (Productivity Commission, 2010). In general, this is the central argument advanced by Charlotte Fabiansson in her new book, Pathways to excessive gambling. Spanning more than 200 pages, Fabiansson’s book is a sociological account of the rapid global expansion of the gambling industry over the last two decades, but it is also a critique of more individualistic or psychological approaches that have tended to dominate the field of gambling research since its inception. In Fabiansson’s view, gambling is a multifaceted phenomenon that needs to be understood in a broader social, economic, and political context. The causes of problem gambling lie not just with individuals, but in these broader factors and influences. Similarly, when one considers the harms resulting from gambling, one must also consider how the community and the social fabric is affected, rather than merely focussing on the consequences for the individual gambler.

Fixing the Game? Legitimacy, Morality Policy and Research in Gambling

It is a truism that some industries are controversial either because the processes employed or the resulting products, for instance, can potentially harm the well-being of people. The controversy that surrounds certain industries can sharply polarise public opinion and debate. In this article, we employ legitimacy theory and morality policy to show how one industry sector (the electronic gaming machine sector as part of the wider gambling industry) is subject to this reaction. We suggest that the difficulty in establishing legitimacy surrounding CSR practices in this sector is related to morality policy, whereby ideology and personal values play important roles in dividing opinion. Thus, gambling is often framed as an activity that is morally and ethically problematic. To show how this can manifest, we examine the veracity of two state-funded studies in Australia used in the development of gambling policy and their subsequent adoption in academic research. We highlight methodological, analytical and reporting issues in these studies that normally should be identified by those using such findings. The significance is that when morality policy and conflict surrounding legitimacy are involved, then it can explain why adherence to normative research standards is potentially lowered. Our theoretical posture leads us to further speculate that the adoption and communication of CSR in electronic gambling will be contested by opponents of the industry.

Exploring women's problem gambling: a review of the literature

Problem gambling is a social issue that increasingly involves women; however, research into gambling and gambling problems amongst women has not kept pace with the feminization of gambling. The aims of this paper are to review relevant literature, discuss research findings on distinctive features of women's gambling, and consider various explanations for gender differences in gambling. While minimal gendered gambling research has been conducted over the past decade, gender differences are apparent in relation to progression to problem gambling, gambling preferences and motivations. Drawing on literature including social capital theory, gender role theory, socialization and cultural geography helps to illuminate why, for instance, for some older women, their gambling increases as their gendered caring role decreases. A better understanding of women's experiences of gambling will allow practical prevention, harm-minimization and treatment strategies to be implemented, and for women's concerns and needs to be accommodated in gambling policy.

Why People Gamble: A Qualitative Study of Four New Zealand Ethnic Groups

In multicultural countries such as New Zealand, it is particularly important that gambling research take into account possible cultural differences. Many New Zealanders come from cultures that do not have a history of gambling, including the Mäori (New Zealand indigenous people), Pacific Islanders, and recent migrants. Little research has examined the reasons why people start and continue to gamble, especially among different ethnic groups. This research project thus aimed to develop a framework to explain how environmental, cultural, and social factors interact with personal attributes to determine gambling behaviors. In a qualitative study, 131 people broadly representative of Mäori, Pacific, Asian, and Päkehä/New Zealand European groups residing in New Zealand were interviewed individually or in focus groups. They included social and problem gamblers, families of problem gamblers, and professionals. Different personal, socioeconomic, environmental, and cultural factors were identified, summarized in a developmental framework, and compared to factors found for ethnic groups in other countries. Public health policy issues were raised, including greater control of gambling promotion.

First Nations gaming in Canada

While games of chance have been part of the Aboriginal cultural landscape since before European contact, large-scale commercial gaming facilities within First Nations communities are a relatively new phenomenon in Canada. First Nations Gaming in Canada is the first multidisciplinary study of the role of gaming in indigenous communities north of the 49th parallel. Bringing together some of Canada's leading gambling researchers, the book examines the history of Aboriginal gaming and its role in indigenous political economy, the rise of large-scale casinos and cybergaming, the socio-ecological impact of problem gambling, and the challenges of labour unions and financial management. The authors also call attention to the dearth of socio-economic impact studies of gambling in First Nations communities while providing models to address this growing issue of concern.

Validation of the Chinese Version of the Gamblers’ Belief Questionnaire (GBQ-C)

A growing body of evidence is documenting the significant role of cognitive factors in influencing gambling behaviors. Although measures of cognitive biases have been developed, further validation of these scales is needed among non-Western samples. The 21-item Gamblers' Belief Questionnaire was originally developed and validated by Steenbergh et al. (in Psychol. Addict. Behav., 16: 143-149, 2002). The scale then has been widely used in the gambling research of the West. The present study was designed to examine and validate the Chinese version of Gamblers' Belief Questionnaire (GBQ-C) using 258 Chinese participants. Confirmatory factor analyses indicated the 2-factor model provided a good fit to the data as evidenced by various model fit indices (CFI=.91, RMSEA=.08 and SRMR=.05). Additional evidence for the validity of the GBQ-C was provided by significant correlations with other relevant measures (range .40-.75). In sum, the present study provides support for the GBQ-C as a valuable tool for assessing gambling cognitions among Chinese samples.

Global Gambling: Cultural Perspectives on Gambling Organizations

The individually authored chapters are characterised by a shift in focus away from partial accounts of gambling as pathology, and even gambling as consumption, toward a broader and more complex analysis of structure and organisation across a variety of international contexts. The volume thereby moves away from a focus on the micro-level analysis of the problem gambler, which defines much existing gambling research, toward a macro-level analysis of the social, cultural, political, and economic organisational arrangements that make gambling—and problem gamblers—possible in the first place.

Australian guideline for treatment of problem gambling: an abridged outline

The Problem Gambling Research and Treatment Centre (PGRTC) has developed the first evidence-based guideline to address problem gambling in Australia — Guideline for screening, assessment and treatment in problem gambling. The entire guideline and related appendices have been approved by the Chief Executive Officer of the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) under s. 14A of the National Health and Medical Research Council Act 1992. In approving the guideline, the NHMRC considered that it meets the NHMRC’s standard for clinical practice guidelines. The guideline will be available on the PGRTC websites (http://www.med.monash.edu.au/sphc/pgrtc and http://www.education.unimelb.edu.au/problemgambling). The full guideline addresses screening, assessment and treatment issues relating to problem gambling; in this abridged outline, we focus solely on treatment interventions for problem gamblers.

Differences in pathological gambling prevalence estimates: facts or artefacts?

The paper aims at investigating whether survey methodology has recently converged to justify the common practice of comparing prevalence estimates and interpreting differences within and between countries. To this end, prevalence studies of problem (PrG) and pathological gambling (PG) published in peer-reviewed journals between 2000 and 2010 were critically reviewed. A systematic computer-based literature search was conducted within various databases and major gambling journals. In a two-step search process, a total of 39 studies reporting current prevalence data of non-clinical national samples from different countries were identified. Analyses revealed wide ranges in estimated PrG/PG rates for adults, adolescents, and college students, whereas similar estimates were reported in two studies on PrG/PG in seniors. Despite the discussion on methodological consistency in the field of gambling research, comparability of the reported estimates was found to be still highly limited by major variation between studies with regard to survey description, administration format, exclusion criteria, assessment instrument, cut-off scores, sample frame, and reference period. The interpretation of differences in PrG and PG prevalence estimates within and between countries may be improved by using valid and reliable instruments and by applying comparable survey methodology in well-defined populations.

Effects on Gambling Behaviour of Developments in Information Technology

The rapid growth and acceptance of online gambling is concerning to academics and clinicians in the field of pathological gambling research. This study proposes a theoretical framework that outlines the effect of technological developments in information technology (IT) on gambling behaviour. The aim of the study is to produce theoretical propositions that can be investigated empirically in future research. Grounded Theory was employed to enable a theoretical framework to conceptualise online gambling behaviour and the utility of IT in gambling behaviour. In total, eight participants were interviewed via semi-structured interviews until theoretical saturation was achieved. The theoretical framework was contrasted against existing problem gambling research. Grounded Theory has indicated that developments in IT have been a catalyst for Elevated Gambling Involvement, in terms of both participation and pre-occupation, and that this phenomenon was produced via the following behavioural constructs: Increased Outcome Control, Reduced Discipline, Expediency and Consumer Value.

Can cybernetics inspire gambling research? A limit-based conceptualization of self-control

This study used a negative feedback model to describe why pathological gamblers (PGs) spend more resources than non-pathological gamblers (NPGs) during a video lottery terminal (VLT) gambling session. Quantitative and qualitative data were collected via face-to-face semi-structured interviews with 43 PGs and 38 NPGs concerning their time and money management habits for gambling. Results show that the majority of PGs and NPGs use a monetary loss limit as a self-control strategy to avoid overspending. PGs, however, set a higher limit than NPGs. In addition, whereas NPGs typically stop gambling after having reached their limit, PGs typically keep spending their limited resources. To describe the self-regulation process during a gambling session, we propose an operationalization of self-control based on internal, external, implicit and explicit limits. The usefulness of a limit-based conceptualization of self-control for prevention and research is discussed.

Perceived Stress and Avoidant Coping Moderate Disordered Gambling Among Emerging Adults in Vietnam

Gambling research conducted in Asia has been limited, despite a continued growth of the gambling industry within the region. Outside Asia, research suggests emerging adults have high rates of gambling behavior and experience serious consequences. The current study examines gambling behavior within an emerging adult (ages 16-24) population in Vietnam. The study evaluates gambling and tests a moderation model of stress and coping in relation to gambling. The rate of disordered gambling in this sample using the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS, 3+) is 15%, slightly higher in comparison to samples of similar aged youth in other countries. Results also indicate avoidant coping moderated the relationship between gambling frequency and gambling problems, such that frequency was more strongly associated with gambling problems among individuals higher in avoidant coping. Etiological and epidemiological implications are discussed in the context of a developmental perspective on disordered gambling among Vietnamese emerging adults.

Virtues of visualisation: gambling in Finnish editorial cartoons

How do editorial cartoons represent gambling? What can visually oriented thinking give to gambling research? The answers are rooted in the expanding research about visual culture, methodologies and data in social sciences and cultural studies. The discussion about 170 editorial cartoons from the Finnish print media, from 1961 to 2005, shows how the cartoons profile the Finnish gambler and what emotions are associated with gambling. The discussion then turns to Finnish gambling culture and gambling's role in society. Space, communication, power relations, and the use of gambling as a political metaphor are highlighted. The assessment demonstrates the value of popular-cultural data for gambling studies. The examination complements the existing cartoon research and visual-cultural studies and has interdisciplinary pedagogical potential.

Brain Imaging Studies in Pathological Gambling

This article reviews the neuroimaging research on pathological gambling (PG). Because of the similarities between substance dependence and PG, PG research has used paradigms similar to those used in substance use disorder research, focusing on reward and punishment sensitivity, cue reactivity, impulsivity, and decision making. This review shows that PG is consistently associated with blunted mesolimbic-prefrontal cortex activation to nonspecific rewards, whereas these areas show increased activation when exposed to gambling-related stimuli in cue exposure paradigms. Very little is known, and hence more research is needed regarding the neural underpinnings of impulsivity and decision making in PG. This review concludes with a discussion regarding the challenges and new developments in the field of neurobiological gambling research and comments on their implications for the treatment of PG.

Implicit measures of attitudes toward gambling: An exploratory study

Gambling researchers have used self-report measures in order to assess gamblers' attitudes toward gambling. Despite their efficiency, self-report measures of attitudes often suffer self-presentation and social desirability bias when they are used to assess socially sensitive or stigmatized issues. This concern has led to the recent development of indirect, non-reactive measures of attitudes in psychology. These implicit measures of attitudes tend to reveal automatic, impulsive mental processes, whereas the self-report measures tap conscious, reflective processes (F. Strack & R. Deutsch, 2004). In this paper, we demonstrate how response latency-based measures can be used to investigate attitudes toward gambling. We report findings of our empirical study, in which evaluative priming (Fazio et al., 1995) and the Single Category Implicit Association Test (SC-IAT; Karpinski & Steinman, 1996) were used to assess implicit attitudes toward gambling, and the Single Target IAT was adapted to assess implicit arousal-sedation associations of gambling. With a sample of 102 undergraduate students, we found that latency-based measures of attitudes toward gambling were not significantly correlated with self-report measures. Moderate-to-high-risk gamblers held more positive attitudes toward gambling in the SC-IAT and exhibited more positive and more negative attitudes toward gambling in the evaluative priming task than did low-risk gamblers.

Sociodemographic and Substance Use Correlates of Gambling Behavior in the Canadian General Population

ABSTRACT This study describes sociodemographic and substance use correlates of gambling behaviors, measured among 9,481 past-year gamblers from the Canadian general population. Compared to non-problem gamblers in this study (N = 8,035), the 98 problem gamblers who scored 8 or more points on the Canadian Problem Gambling Research Index were more likely to report being “drunk or high” while gambling (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 8.92; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.46,14.55; p < .001), to admit to having an alcohol or drug problem (AOR: 3.80; 95% CI:2.21,6.52; p < .001), and to use electronic gambling devices (AOR: 4.85; 95% CI: 3.08-7.66; p< .001).

The Appropriateness of Using Laboratories and Student Participants in Gambling Research

Increased recognition of the risks associated with gambling has resulted in a greater focus on empirical research to increase the understanding of gambling and design appropriate response strategies. Laboratory studies are a popular mode of research due to their relative ease and lower costs compared to field research; however such studies may be limited in the extent to which results can be generalized to real gambling scenarios. The current research investigated the validity of a laboratory research study using 127 university students (male = 97, mean age = 20.4) investigating the impact of harm-minimisation measures by replicating the study in gambling venues with 124 club patrons (male = 89, mean age = 44.1). The main results and effects of both studies were in the same direction, but fewer significant results were found in the venue study. Venue participants provided much less information in response to survey questions than student participants and were less likely to return follow-up questionnaires. It was concluded that both laboratory and field studies provide valuable contributions to the field, but caution should be taken in interpreting results, and where possible both methodologies should be used to verify conclusions.

Where Did All the Pathological Gamblers Go? Gambling Symptomatology and Stage of Change Predict Attrition in Longitudinal Research

Attrition can introduce a systematic bias that can negatively affect validity (Cook and Campbell, Quasi-experimentation: design and analysis issues for field settings. Rand McNally, Chicago, 1979). Current longitudinal research in gambling, however, has generally overlooked the reasons for attrition. The current research examined the relationship between pathological gambling symptomatology, stage of change and attrition. Three hundred and seventy-nine participants were contacted 12 months after initially participating in a study on gambling for a follow-up session. Logistic regression revealed those in the contemplation and preparation stages of change reported higher levels of pathological gambling symptomatology and were more likely to drop out of the study compared to those in the precontemplation stage. As predicted, gambling symptomatology mediated the relationship between stages of change and attrition. The implication for longitudinal research on gambling as well as extant findings that have used this methodological approach is discussed.