Abstract
We examined knowledge about the role of randomness in gambling and the principle of independence of events, in a community sample. We also investigated whether this knowledge varies according to gender and age. A convenience sample of 1257 residents in French-speaking Switzerland, aged 18–88 years (28.5% of women) completed a short online questionnaire. This assessed the perceived role of human skills in four different games as well as beliefs relating to the principle of independence of events. The results show that 19.5% of the respondents perceived Roulette as a game for which the outcome is determined by skill. They also showed that 15.1% of the respondents did not hold beliefs about the independence of events principle. Gender and age differences were also observed: Men were proportionally more likely to hold erroneous beliefs about gambling skills and the independence of events, compared to women. The 18–25 year-old age group attributed Roulette outcomes to the gambler’s skill more frequently than the older categories. The implications of these findings for prevention and social support are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
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. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2009.10.003.
Buchanan, T., & Selmon, N. (2008). Race and gender differences in self-efficacy: Assessing the role of gender role attitudes and family background. Sex Roles, 58(11), 822–836. doi:10.1007/s11199-008-9389-3.
Copello, A., Orford, J., Velleman, R., Templeton, L., & Krishnan, M. (2000). Methods for reducing alcohol and drug related family harm in non-specialist settings. Journal of Mental Health, 9(3), 329–343. doi:10.1080/jmh.9.3.329.343.
Crawford, M. (2008). Student gambling, erroneous cognitions, and awareness of treatment in Scotland. Journal of Gambling Issues, 21, 30–55. doi:10.4309/jgi.2008.21.5.
Cunningham, J. A., Cordingley, J., Hodgins, D. C., & Toneatto, T. (2011). Beliefs about gambling problems and recovery: Results from a general population telephone survey. Journal of Gambling Studies, 27(4), 625–631. doi:10.1007/s10899-010-9231-z.
Delfabbro, P., Lambos, C., King, D., & Puglies, S. (2009). Knowledge and beliefs about gambling in Australian secondary school students and their implications for education strategies. Journal of Gambling Studies, 25(4), 523–539. doi:10.1007/s10899-009-9141-0.
Hodgins, D. C., Stea, J. N., & Grant, J. E. (2011). Gambling disorders. The Lancet, 378, 1874–1884. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(10)62185-X.
Inglin, S., & Gmel, G. (2011). Beliefs about and attitudes toward gambling in French-speaking Switzerland. Journal of Gambling Studies, 27(2), 299–316. doi:10.1007/s10899-010-9210-4.
Ladouceur, R. (2004). Perceptions among pathological and nonpathological gamblers. Addictive Behaviors, 29(3), 555–565. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2003.08.025.
Ladouceur, R., & Dube, D. (1997). Erroneous perceptions in generating random sequences: Identification and strength of a basic misconception in gambling behavior. Swiss Journal of Psychology, 56(4), 256–259.
Ladouceur, R., Sylvain, C., Letarte, H., Giroux, I., & Jacques, C. (1998). Cognitive treatment of pathological gamblers. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36(12), 1111–1119. doi:10.1016/S0005-7967(98)00086-2.
MacKay, T.-L., & Hodgins, D. C. (2012). Cognitive distortions as a problem gambling risk factor in Internet gambling. International Gambling Studies, 12(2), 163–175. doi:10.1080/14459795.2011.648652.
MacLaren, V., Ellery, M., & Knoll, T. (2015). Personality, gambling motives and cognitive distortions in electronic gambling machine players. Personality and Individual Differences, 73, 24–28. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2014.09.019.
Miller, N. V., & Currie, S. R. (2008). A Canadian population level analysis of the roles of irrational gambling cognitions and risky gambling practices as correlates of gambling intensity and pathological gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 24(3), 257–274. doi:10.1007/s10899-008-9089-5.
Nicholson, R., Graves, C., Ellery, M., & Afifi, O. T. (2016). The temporal relationship between faulty gambling cognitions and gambling severity in young adults. Journal of Gambling Studies. doi:10.1007/s10899-016-9605-y.
Okuda, M., Balán, I., Petry, N. M., Oquendo, M., & Blanco, C. (2009). Cognitive behavioral therapy for pathological gambling: Cultural considerations. American Journal of Psychiatry, 166(12), 1325–1330. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.08081235.
Roulette. (n.d.). In Wikipedia. Retrieved Nov 15, 2016 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roulette.
Sani, A.-M., Carlevaro, T., & Pezzatti, G. B. (2014). La tombola non è un gioco d’azzardo [Tombola is not a game of chance]. Retrieved Jul 29, 2016 from http://www.giocoresponsabile.com/leggi/schiacciati_dalla_fortuna_la_tombola_non_e_un_gioco_dazzardo/.
Toneatto, T. (1999). Cognitive psychopathology of problem gambling. Substance Use and Misuse, 34(11), 1593–1604. doi:10.3109/10826089909039417.
Toneatto, T., Blitz-Miller, T., Calderwood, K., Dragonetti, R., & Tsanos, A. (1997). Cognitive distortions in heavy gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 13(3), 253–266.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Federico Cathieni for his technical support, in implementing the online questionnaire, and Cheryl Dickson for English revision of the manuscript. Funding was provided by Lausanne Universtiy Hospital regular budget.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
None.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Tomei, A., Bamert, A. & Sani, AM. Misbeliefs About Gambling in a Convenience Sample from the General Population. J Gambl Stud 33, 899–906 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9665-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9665-z