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01-06-2008 | Original Paper

The Population Mean and the Proportion of Frequent Gamblers: Is the Theory of Total Consumption Valid for Gambling?

Author: Ingeborg Lund

Published in: Journal of Gambling Studies | Issue 2/2008

Abstract

The study looks at three representative samples of Norwegians in different age groups with the aim of finding evidence for the validity of the total consumption model for the area of gambling. The results show that gambling was distributed in the population in a way consistent with the predictions of the total consumption theory. Populations with a low mean gambling frequency had a lower proportion of frequent gamblers than populations with a high mean gambling frequency. It was also shown that in a population with a low mean gambling frequency, consumers along the whole consumption continuum gambled less frequently, than in a population with a high mean gambling frequency. It is concluded that the total consumption model seems to be valid for gambling, and that gambling consequently needs to be understood as a public health issue. The actions and behaviours of the normal majority can then not be regarded as irrelevant for the development in problem gambling prevalences.

Even though gambling is normally thought of as a behaviour, it is here regarded as a “good” or service that is bought, hence the somewhat unfamiliar use of the word consumption.

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Title: The Population Mean and the Proportion of Frequent Gamblers: Is the Theory of Total Consumption Valid for Gambling?
Author: Ingeborg Lund
Publication date: 01-06-2008
Publisher: Springer US
Published in: Journal of Gambling Studies / Issue 2/2008
Electronic ISSN: 1573-3602
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-007-9081-5

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