An exploratory study of gambling motivations and their impact on the purchase frequencies of various gambling products

Abstract

The global gambling industry is huge and gambling has become a leading leisure activity in many countries. Although research on gambling is extensive, many gaps remain. The objective of this exploratory study was to examine how motivations for regular gambling varied by the forms of game played. Using data collected by the U.S. National Gambling Impact Study Commission, the study found that regular gamblers were motivated to gamble to win and to fulfill their sense of excitement/challenge for some gambling products like lottery, racetrack betting, and casinos. For others, such as bingo and card room games, they were motivated to gamble more for social reasons. The findings have important implications to marketers and public policy makers.

An investigation of social casino gaming among land-based and Internet gamblers: A comparison of socio-demographic characteristics, gambling and co-morbidities

“…A study of 1500 adult social gamers from the US found that 46% of social gamers said that playing with friends is the most important feature to them (Shaul, 2013). In comparison, gambling is typically motivated by winning, although socialisation is an important factor for some gamblers (Custer & Milt, 1985;Lam, 2007;McBride & Derevensky, 2009). Further research should examine the motivations of social casino gamers and what leads them to choose to play gambling or social casino games at different times.…”

Exploring the Relationship Between Body Mass Index, Obesity, and Gambling Level Across Different Gambling Types

“…Control variables were considered along with level of gambling participation for each type of gambling (dependent variable). Previous studies found that gambling level is associated with age (Burns, Gillet, Rubinstein, & Gentry, 1990;Herring & Bledsoe, 1994;Young & Stevens, 2009), education level (Lam, 2007;Rogers, 1998), and income (Abbot & Cramer, 1993;Currie et al, 2006). We also tested for multicollinearity among independent variables and found that variance inflation factors ranged from 1.006 to 1.422, which are within the acceptable range (see O'brien, 2007).…”

“…Gambling, in the case of casino participation, is conducted indoors within a comfortable environment. In particular, activities involving a casino typically require individuals to physically go to a specific venue (e.g., casino or related gaming centre) and thus may be substitutes for other social, leisure, or sports activities (Lam, 2007). Hence, gambling may be an attractive choice for obese individuals, similar to the relationship between a sedentary lifestyle and obesity, especially TV watching (Johnson- Taylor & Everhart, 2006).…”

The influence of individualism and uncertainty avoidance on per capita gambling turnover

“…Individualism sponsors self-fulfillment and satisfaction, which includes the pursuit of fame and wealth. Gambling to win has always been one of the major explanations for continued gambling, often ranked within the top three gambling motivations (Lam, 2007). Thus, high individualism may in some ways relate to average gambling expenditure per person.…”

“…Perhaps one explanation is that, unlike casino gambling, lottery is an individual game. Lam (2007), who investigated gambling motivations for nine different forms of games, found that social factor was not a significant motivator for lottery purchase. Whether it is in an individualistic or collectivistic culture, the factors (internal and external) that influence lottery purchase are perhaps similar.…”