Top

Published in:

01-09-2020 | Original Paper

A Cross-Cultural Study of Weekly Sports Bettors in Australia and Spain

Authors: Hibai Lopez-Gonzalez, Alex M. T. Russell, Nerilee Hing, Ana Estévez, Mark D. Griffiths

Published in: Journal of Gambling Studies | Issue 3/2020

Abstract

Betting on sport is one of the fastest developing forms of gambling internationally. Sports betting is attracting considerable scholarly, media, and regulatory attention due to the cultural salience of sport, and the rising public health concerns about the rapid proliferation and penetration of betting products in everyday life. Despite its global expansion, little is known regarding the comparative impact sports betting is having in different territories. This study aims to examine a sample of Australian (n = 738) and Spanish (n = 361) weekly sports bettors to assess their similarities and differences concerning sociodemographic characteristics, channels (i.e., online vs. offline) and devices used, in-play betting, and problem gambling severity. The findings showed high problem gambling scores among sports bettors in both countries, and consistent similarities in the association between problem gambling, in-play betting, and offline betting. Also, clear trends were observed between problem gambling, higher educational level, and female sport betting, particularly in the Australian sample. These results suggest a common pattern of risk factors for problematic sports betting and can help to inform worldwide regulatory efforts to tackle harmful sports betting-specific features such as in-play betting.

Afifi, T. O., Cox, B. J., Martens, P. J., Sareen, J., & Enns, M. W. (2010). Demographic and social variables associated with problem gambling among men and women in Canada. Psychiatry Research,178(2), 395–400.

Armstrong, A., & Carroll, M. (2017a). Gambling activity in Australia. Melbourne: Australian Gambling Research Centre, Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Armstrong, A., & Carroll, M. (2017b). Sports betting in Australia. Melbourne: Australian Gambling Research Centre, Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Australian Commonwealth Parliament. Interactive Gambling Act 2001 (2001). Australia.

Bakken, I. J., Götestam, K. G., Gråwe, R. W., Wenzel, H. G., & Øren, A. (2009). Gambling behavior and gambling problems in Norway 2007. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology,50(4), 333–339.PubMed

Bonnaire, C., Kovess-Masfety, V., Guignard, R., Richard, J. B., du Roscoät, E., & Beck, F. (2017). Gambling type, substance abuse, health and psychosocial correlates of male and female problem gamblers in a nationally representative French sample. Journal of Gambling Studies,33(2), 343–369.PubMed

Bowden-Jones, H., & Prever, F. (2017). Gambling disorders in women: An international female perspective on treatment and research. London: Taylor and Francis.

Braverman, J., Laplante, D. A., Nelson, S. E., & Shaffer, H. J. (2013). Using cross-game behavioral markers for early identification of high-risk internet gamblers. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors,27(3), 868–877.PubMed

Deans, E. G., Thomas, S. L., Daube, M., Derevensky, J., & Gordon, R. (2016). Creating symbolic cultures of consumption: An analysis of the content of sports wagering advertisements in Australia. BMC Public Health,16(1), 208.PubMedPubMedCentral

Department of Social Services. (2018). National consumer protection framework for online wagering. Retrieved December 19, 2018, from: https://www.dss.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/11_2018/ncpfow-fact-sheet28-nov-2018-2.pdf.

Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego. (2016). Estudio sobre prevalencia, comportamiento y características de los usuarios de juegos de azar en España 2015. Madrid: Spanish Ministry for Finance and Public Administration.

Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego. (2017a). Datos del mercado de juego online. Madrid: Spanish Ministry for Finance and Public Administration.

Dirección General de Ordenación del Juego. (2017b). Gasto promocional de juego online. Madrid: Spanish Ministry for Finance and Public Administration.

Estévez, A., Rodríguez, R., Díaz, N., Granero, R., Mestre-Bach, G., Steward, T., et al. (2017). How do online sports gambling disorder patients compare with land-based patients? Journal of Behavioral Addictions,6(4), 639–647.PubMedPubMedCentral

European Gaming & Betting Association. (2018). Most popular gambling activities. Brussels: European Gaming & Betting Association.

Ferris, J., & Wynne, H. (2001). The Canadian Problem Gambling Index. Ottawa: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.

Gainsbury, S. M., & Russell, A. (2015). Betting patterns for sports and races: A longitudinal analysis of online wagering in Australia. Journal of Gambling Studies,31(1), 17–32.PubMed

Gainsbury, S., Russell, A., Blaszczynski, A., & Hing, N. (2015a). Greater involvement and diversity of Internet gambling as a risk factor for problem gambling. European Journal of Public Health,25(4), 723–728.PubMedPubMedCentral

Gainsbury, S., Russell, A., Blaszczynski, A., & Hing, N. (2015b). The interaction between gambling activities and modes of access: A comparison of Internet-only, land-based only, and mixed-mode gamblers. Addictive Behaviors,41, 34–40.PubMed

Gainsbury, S. M., Russell, A., Hing, N., Wood, R., Lubman, D. I., & Blaszczynski, A. (2014). The prevalence and determinants of problem gambling in australia: Assessing the impact of interactive gambling and new technologies. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors,28(3), 769–779.PubMed

Gambling Commission. (2016). In-play (in-running) betting: Position paper. London. Retrieved December 19, 2018, from: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/pdf/In-running-betting-position-paper.pdf.

Gambling Commission. (2018). Gambling Commission to crackdown on operators who don’t treat consumers fairly. Retrieved December 19, 2018, from: https://www.gamblingcommission.gov.uk/news-action-and-statistics/news/2018/Crackdown-on-operators-who-dont-treat-consumers-fairly.aspx.

Gassmann, F., Emrich, E., & Pierdzioch, C. (2017). Who bets on sports? Some further empirical evidence using German data. International Review for the Sociology of Sport,52(4), 391–410.

Gebauer, L., LaBrie, R., & Shaffer, H. J. (2010). Optimizing DSM-IV-TR classification accuracy: A brief biosocial screen for detecting current gambling disorders among gamblers in the general household population. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry,55(2), 82–90.PubMed

Gordon, R., Gurrieri, L., & Chapman, M. (2015). Broadening an understanding of problem gambling: The lifestyle consumption community of sports betting. Journal of Business Research,68(10), 2164–2172.

Hing, N., Gainsbury, S., Blaszczynski, A., Wood, R., Lubman, D., & Russell, A. (2014a). Interactive gambling. Melbourne: Gambling Research Australia.

Hing, N., Russell, A. M. T., & Browne, M. (2017). Risk factors for gambling problems on online electronic gaming machines, race betting and sports betting. Frontiers in Psychology,15(8), 775.

Hing, N., Russell, A. M. T., Gainsbury, S. M., & Blaszczynski, A. (2015). Characteristics and help-seeking behaviors of Internet gamblers based on most problematic mode of gambling. Journal of Medical Internet Research,17(1), E13.PubMedPubMedCentral

Hing, N., Russell, A. M. T., Vitartas, P., & Lamont, M. (2016). Demographic, behavioural and normative risk factors for gambling problems amongst sports bettors. Journal of Gambling Studies,32(2), 625–641.PubMed

Hing, N., Vitartas, P., Lamont, M., & Fink, E. (2014b). Adolescent exposure to gambling promotions during televised sport: An exploratory study of links with gambling intentions. International Gambling Studies,14(3), 374–393.

Huang, J. H., & Boyer, R. (2007). Epidemiology of youth gambling problems in Canada: A national prevalence study. Canadian Journal of Psychiatry,52(10), 657–665.PubMed

Hubert, P., & Griffiths, M. D. (2018). A comparison of online versus offline gambling harm in Portuguese pathological gamblers: An empirical study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction,16(5), 1219–1237.PubMed

Killick, E. A., & Griffiths, M. D. (2018). In-play sports betting: A scoping study. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-9896-6.CrossRef

LaBrie, R., & Shaffer, H. J. (2011). Identifying behavioral markers of disordered Internet sports gambling. Addiction Research & Theory,19(1), 56–65.

Lamont, M., Hing, N., & Vitartas, P. (2016). Affective response to gambling promotions during televised sport: A qualitative analysis. Sport Management Review,19(3), 319–331.

LaPlante, D., Nelson, S. E., & Gray, H. M. (2014). Breadth and depth involvement: Understanding Internet gambling involvement and its relationship to gambling problems. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors,28(2), 396–403.PubMed

Li, E., Langham, E., Browne, M., Rockloff, M., & Thorne, H. (2018). Gambling and sport: Implicit association and explicit intention among underage youth. Journal of Gambling Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-9756-0.CrossRefPubMed

Lopez-Gonzalez, H., Estévez, A., & Griffiths, M. D. (2017). Marketing and advertising online sports betting: A problem gambling perspective. Journal of Sport & Social Issues,41(3), 256–272.

Lopez-Gonzalez, H., Estévez, A., & Griffiths, M. D. (2018a). Internet-based structural characteristics of sports betting and problem gambling severity: Is there a relationship? International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-9876-x.CrossRefPubMed

Lopez-Gonzalez, H., Estévez, A., & Griffiths, M. D. (2018b). Spanish validation of the Problem Gambling Severity Index: A confirmatory factor analysis with sports bettors. Journal of Behavioral Addictions,7(3), 814–820.PubMedPubMedCentral

Lopez-Gonzalez, H., Griffiths, M. D., & Estévez, A. (2018c). In-play betting, sport broadcasts, and gambling severity: A survey study of Spanish sports bettors on the risks of betting on sport while watching it. Communication & Sport. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167479518816338.CrossRef

McCormack, A., & Griffiths, M. D. (2013). A scoping study of the structural and situational characteristics of internet gambling. International Journal of Cyber Behavior, Psychology and Learning,3(1), 29–49.

Merkouris, S. S., Thomas, A. C., Shandley, K. A., Rodda, S. N., Oldenhof, E., & Dowling, N. A. (2016). An update on gender differences in the characteristics associated with problem gambling: A systematic review. Current Addiction Reports,3(3), 254–267.

Milner, L., Hing, N., Vitartas, P., & Lamont, M. (2013). An exploratory study of embedded gambling promotion in Australian football television broadcasts. Communication, Politics and Culture,46, 177–198.

Myrseth, H., Pallesen, S., Molde, H., Johnsen, B. H., & Lorvik, I. M. (2009). Personality factors as predictors of pathological gambling. Personality and Individual Differences,47(8), 933–937.

National Opinion Research Center. (1999). Gambling impact and behavior study: Report to the National Gambling Impact Study Commission. Chicago: National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

Nelson, S. E., LaPlante, D. A., LaBrie, R. A., & Shaffer, H. J. (2006). The proxy effect: Gender and gambling problem trajectories of iowa gambling treatment program participants. Journal of Gambling Studies,22(2), 221–240.PubMed

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD]. (2018). Youth unemployment rate. Paris. Retrieved December 19, 2018, from: https://data.oecd.org/unemp/youth-unemployment-rate.htm.

Papineau, E., Lacroix, G., Sévigny, S., Biron, J. F., Corneau-Tremblay, N., & Lemétayer, F. (2018). Assessing the differential impacts of online, mixed, and offline gambling. International Gambling Studies,18(1), 69–91.

Parke, J., & Griffiths, M. D. (2007). The role of structural characteristics in gambling. In G. Smith, D. Hodgins, & R. Williams (Eds.), Research and measurement issues in gambling studies (pp. 211–243). New York: Elsevier.

Philander, K. S., & MacKay, T.-L. (2014). Online gambling participation and problem gambling severity: Is there a causal relationship? International Gambling Studies,14(2), 214–227.

Pitt, H., Thomas, S., Bestman, A., Stoneham, M., & Daube, M. (2016). “It’s just everywhere!” Children and parents discuss the marketing of sports betting in Australia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health,40(5), 480–486.PubMed

Queensland Government Statistician’s Office. (2018). Australian Gambling Statistics (34th ed.). Queensland: Queensland Government Statistician’s Office.

Reiche, D. (2013). The prohibition of online sports betting: A comparative analysis of Germany and the United States. European Sport Management Quarterly,13(3), 293–314.

Russell, A. M. T., Hing, N., Browne, M., Li, E., & Vitartas, P. (2018a). Who bets on micro events (microbets) in sports? Journal of Gambling Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-9810-y.CrossRefPubMed

Russell, A. M. T., Hing, N., Li, E., & Vitartas, P. (2018b). Gambling risk groups are not all the same: Risk factors amongst sports bettors. Journal of Gambling Studies. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-018-9765-z.CrossRefPubMed

Scalese, M., Bastiani, L., Salvadori, S., Gori, M., Lewis, I., Jarre, P., et al. (2016). Association of problem gambling with type of gambling among Italian general population. Journal of Gambling Studies,32(3), 1017–1026.PubMed

Stradbrooke, S. (2018). Italy gambling advertising ban targets January 1, 2019 start. Retrieved December 19, 2018, from: https://calvinayre.com/2018/06/27/business/italy-advertising-ban-january-2019/.

Volberg, R. A., Abbott, M. W., Rönnberg, S., & Munck, I. M. E. (2001). Prevalence and risks of pathological gambling in Sweden. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica,104, 250–256.PubMed

Wardle, H. (2017). The re-feminisation of gambling. In H. Bowden-Jones & F. Prever (Eds.), Gambling disorders in women: An international female perspective on treatment and research (pp. 173–186). Oxford: Routledge.

Welte, J. W., Barnes, G. M., Wieczorek, W. F., Tidwell, M. C. O., & Parker, J. C. (2004). Risk factors for pathological gambling. Addictive Behaviors,29(2), 323–335.PubMed

Williams, R. J., Volberg, R. A., & Stevens, R. M. (2012). The population prevalence of problem gambling: Methodological influences, standardized rates, jurisdictional differences, and worldwide trends. Ottawa: Ontario Problem Gambling Research Centre.

Wood, J., Howman, D., & Murrihy, R. (2018). Report of the review of Australia’s sports integrity arrangements. Canberra: Department of Health, Australian Government.

Title: A Cross-Cultural Study of Weekly Sports Bettors in Australia and Spain
Authors: Hibai Lopez-Gonzalez
Alex M. T. Russell
Nerilee Hing
Ana Estévez
Mark D. Griffiths
Publication date: 01-09-2020
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Gambling Studies / Issue 3/2020
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3602
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-019-09898-1

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

A Cross-Cultural Study of Weekly Sports Bettors in Australia and Spain

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 3/2020

Embedded Gambling Promotion in Football: An Explorative Study of Cue-Exposure and Urge to Gamble

Scratch Card Near-Miss Outcomes Increase the Urge to Gamble, but Do Not Impact Further Gambling Behaviour: A Pre-registered Replication and Extension

A Family Study of Trauma and Coping Strategies in Gambling Disorder

Encouraging Gamblers to Think Critically Using Generalised Analytical Priming is Ineffective at Reducing Gambling Biases

Gambling Research and Industry Funding

Exposure to Gambling and Alcohol Marketing in Soccer Matchday Programmes