Background and aims
Money is central to psychological definitions of gambling, but contemporary accounts are ambiguous regarding the role of financial motives in disordered gambling. The aims of the ...current research were to obtain meta‐analytic weighted effect sizes for zero‐order associations of financial motives against gambling frequency and level of problem gambling, as well as partial associations after controlling for other motives (e.g. coping).
Methods
A meta‐analysis of the literature through February 2021 was undertaken. Studies were identified from multiple sources (e.g. database search, other researchers). PRISMA standards were followed when screening identified records and extracting relevant data. The data analytic plan was pre‐registered. We included 44 cross‐sectional studies that involved student, community and clinical samples of people who gamble (sample sizes ranged from 22–5666), using validated self‐report measures of financial gambling motives alongside measures of either gambling frequency and/or problem gambling.
Results
Financial gambling motives were positively associated with gambling frequency, r = 0.29, 95% CI = 0.21, 0.37, n = 22 738, and level of problem gambling, r = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.31, 0.38, n = 38 204, with moderate effect sizes. Partial associations after controlling for overlapping variance with other gambling motives were also positive (gambling frequency: β = 0.14, 95% CI = 0.05, 0.22, n = 13 844; level of problem gambling: β = 0.18, 95% CI = 0.13, 0.22, n = 28 146), with small‐to‐moderate effect sizes. Effect sizes were heterogeneous and the extent of heterogeneity was high. Analyses of the zero‐order association involving gambling frequency indicated that gambling motives measure (greater for Gambling Motives Questionnaire‐Financial) and sample mean age (greater for younger samples) were moderators. No other moderators were statistically significant.
Conclusions
Financial gambling motives appear to be reliably and positively associated with both gambling frequency and level of problem gambling.
Abstract
INTRODUCTION
Associative learning is the process whereby a connection is formed between a sensory cue and an outcome resulting from a behavioral response. This process allows us to learn to ...adapt and optimally respond to a changing environment. Primate research has demonstrated that the caudate nucleus is involved in associative learning and contains information encoding whether a response was correct or incorrect. Our objective was to determine whether correlates of learning are present in the human caudate nucleus and to differentiate between learning and reward related signaling.
METHODS
Five subjects who underwent depth electrode placement for seizure localization for medically refractory epilepsy were included in our study. Two behavioral tasks were performed while intracranial local field potentials were recorded from the implanted electrodes. A learning task required subjects to learn an association between a series of presented images and a button press. A gambling task required subjects to place a wager on the outcome of a simulated card game. We computed power in caudate electrodes and compared power during the feedback epoch of the task between correct and incorrect trials for the learning task and between winning and losing trials for the gambling task.
RESULTS
>There was a significant increase in beta (15-30Hz) power during the feedback epoch of the learning task, with significant differences between beta power following correct versus incorrect responses. Conversely, no difference in beta power was seen during the feedback epoch of the gambling task between winning and losing trials.
CONCLUSION
Changes in beta power were seen in the caudate nucleus that differed between correct and incorrect trials in a learning task. No correlate was seen in a gambling task, suggesting that this signal is related specifically to learning rather than to reward.
Numerous responsible gambling (RG) strategies are promoted to assist consumers to “gamble responsibly”. However, consumer adoption of RG strategies, how this varies by gambler risk group, and whether ...usage is associated with non-problematic gambling are largely unknown. This study aimed to (1) determine how use of RG-related strategies differs amongst regular gamblers by gambler risk group; and (2) identify RG-related strategies whose usage predicts non-problem/low risk gambling. Regular Australian gamblers on high-risk products (
N
= 860), recruited through gambling venues and an online wagering operator, were surveyed about their use of RG strategies promoted on the website of their jurisdiction’s main RG agency. Knowledge of RG strategies was reasonably high amongst all gambler risk groups, but lower-risk groups were more likely to use RG strategies. A logistic regression correctly predicted 82.1 % of lower-risk gamblers and 77.2 % of higher-risk gamblers. Predictors of lower-risk gambling included: greater confidence in their understanding of RG; endorsement of lower gambling expenditure and frequency limits; fewer erroneous gambling beliefs; being less likely to gamble to win money, challenge their skills/beat the odds, or forget about worries and stresses; and being more likely to gamble for pleasure/entertainment. Lower-risk gamblers were more likely to set a money limit in advance of gambling and to balance their gambling with other activities. These findings contribute to understanding which strategies are favoured by different risk groups, and which are associated with safer levels of gambling. They can guide consumer information aimed at enhancing RG consumption and future research on RG consumption.
Harm from gambling is known to impact individuals, families, and communities; and these harms are not restricted to people with a gambling disorder. Currently, there is no robust and inclusive ...internationally agreed upon definition of gambling harm. In addition, the current landscape of gambling policy and research uses inadequate proxy measures of harm, such as problem gambling symptomology, that contribute to a limited understanding of gambling harms. These issues impede efforts to address gambling from a public health perspective.
Data regarding harms from gambling was gathered using four separate methodologies, a literature review, focus groups and interviews with professionals involved in the support and treatment of gambling problems, interviews with people who gamble and their affected others, and an analysis of public forum posts for people experiencing problems with gambling and their affected others. The experience of harm related to gambling was examined to generate a conceptual framework. The catalogue of harms experienced were organised as a taxonomy.
The current paper proposes a definition and conceptual framework of gambling related harm that captures the full breadth of harms that gambling can contribute to; as well as a taxonomy of harms to facilitate the development of more appropriate measures of harm.
Our aim is to create a dialogue that will lead to a more coherent interpretation of gambling harm across treatment providers, policy makers and researchers.
Here we present a systematic review of the existing research into gambling harms, in order to determine whether there are differences in the presentation of these across demographic groups such as ...age, gender, culture, and socioeconomic status, or gambling behaviour categories such as risk severity and participation frequency.
Inclusion criteria were: 1) focus on gambling harms; 2) focus on harms to the gambler rather than affected others; 3) discussion of specific listed harms and not just harms in general terms. Exclusion criteria were: 1) research of non-human subjects; 2) not written in English; 3) not an empirical study; 4) not available as a full article.
We conducted a systematic search using the Web of Science and Scopus databases in August 2020. Assessment of quality took place using Standard Quality Assessment Criteria.
A total of 59 studies published between 1994 and 2020 met the inclusion criteria. These were categorised into thematic groups for comparison and discussion. There were replicated differences found in groups defined by age, socioeconomic status, education level, ethnicity and culture, risk severity, and gambling behaviours.
Harms appear to be dependent on specific social, demographic and environmental conditions that suggests there is a health inequality in gambling related harms. Further investigation is required to develop standardised measurement tools and to understand confounding variables and co-morbidities. With a robust understanding of harms distribution in the population, Primary Care Workers will be better equipped to identify those who are at risk, or who are showing signs of Gambling Disorder, and to target prevention and intervention programmes appropriately.
Objective: To help individuals avoid potential negative consequences associated with their gambling, researchers have developed lower risk limits for time and financial involvement among populations ...of land-based gamblers. The present study extended these efforts to online gambler populations with prospective longitudinal data. Method: We used receiver operating characteristic curve analysis and logistic regression models predicting a positive Brief Biosocial Gambling Screen (BBGS; Gebauer et al., Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 55, 2010, 82-90) to develop lower risk limits for six measures of gambling involvement among subscribers to an online gambling operator. We also tested the utility of these six newly developed online limits and three existing land-based limits for the BBGS outcome and proxies for gambling problems including: (a) voluntary self-limiting, (b) voluntary self-exclusion, (c) closing one's account, and (d) being assigned a flag for potential problem gambling by customer service. Results: We identified five optimal limits for lower risk online gambling with adequate sensitivity and specificity for predicting BBGS-positive status, and four of those that also received additional empirical support. These four empirically supported gambling limits were: (a) wagering 167.97 Euros or less each month; (b) spending 6.71% or less of one's annual income on online gambling wagers; (c) losing 26.11 Euros or less on online gambling per month; and (d) demonstrating variability (i.e., standard deviation) in daily amount wagered of 35.14 Euros or less during one's duration active. Conclusions: Our findings have implications for lower risk gambling limits research and suggest that unique limits might apply to online and land-based gambler populations.
Public Health Significance Statement
This study found that gambling online above specific limits is associated with increased likelihood of experiencing gambling-related problems. Public health guidelines advising gamblers to keep their gambling below certain limits might facilitate safer gambling practices and help reduce the likelihood of emerging gambling-related problems. Individual cases might require more stringent thresholds, and like any behavior with potential for harm, not engaging in gambling at all is the most certain way to prevent gambling problems.
Gambling disorder is related to high overall gambling engagement; however specific activities and modalities are thought to have stronger relationships with gambling problems. This study aimed to ...isolate the relationship between specific gambling activities and modalities (Internet and venue/land-based) to gambling disorder and general psychological distress. Past-month Internet gamblers were the focus of this investigation because this modality may be associated with gambling disorders in a unique way that needs to be separated from overall gambling intensity.
Australians who had gambled online in the prior 30 days (N = 998, 57% male) were recruited through a market research company to complete an online survey measuring self-reported gambling participation, problem gambling severity, and psychological distress.
When controlling for overall gambling frequency, problem gambling was significantly positively associated with the frequency of online and venue-based gambling using electronic gaming machines (EGMs) and venue-based sports betting. Psychological distress was uniquely associated with higher frequency of venue gambling using EGMs, sports betting, and casino card/table games.
This study advances our understanding of how specific gambling activities are associated with disordered gambling and psychological distress in users of Internet gambling services. Our results suggest that among Internet gamblers, online and land-based EGMs are strongly associated with gambling disorder severity. High overall gambling engagement is an important predictor of gambling-related harms, nonetheless, venue-based EGMs, sports betting and casinos warrant specific attention to address gambling-related harms and psychological distress among gamblers.
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