Abstract
No studies to date have specifically determined the relationship between prize levels, debt size, and impulsivity on reported gambling behaviour on Electronic Gaming Machines (EGM). The present study reports the findings of a pilot study designed to investigate whether or not the likelihood of increasing the size of a bet was related to the level of prize offered and personal debt. The sample consisted of 171 first year psychology students (61 males and 120 females). Participants completed a series of gambling vignettes designed to elicit data on reported bet size according to different prize levels and debt sizes; the Eysenck Impulsivity Scale (Eysenck and Eysenck 1977); the Canadian Problem Gambling Index; and an author-constructed questionnaire eliciting data on demographic and gambling behaviours. Results indicated that as prize levels increase the odds (relative risk) of an individual placing a bet on an EGM and the amount of money reportedly bet tends to increase. A negative relationship between debt size and reported gambling behaviour moderated by prize level was found. No differences were found in the odds of placing a bet according to impulsivity. It was concluded that prize and debt sizes do influence propensities to gamble and level of bets. The findings have implications for restricting jackpot and general prize levels as a responsible gambling strategy designed to reduce motivations to gamble.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders. (4th ed., text rev.). Washington, DC: Author.
Barratt, E. (1985). Impulsiveness subtraits: Arousal and information processing. In J. Spence & C. Itard (Eds.), Motivation, emotion and personality (pp. 137–146). North Holland: Elsevier.
Blanchard, E., Wulfert, E., Freidenberg, B., & Malta, L. (2000). Psychophysiological assessment of compulsive gamblers’ arousal to gambling cues: A pilot study. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 25(3), 155–165. doi:10.1023/a:1009550724836.
Blaszczynski, A., & Nower, L. (2002). A pathways model of problem and pathological gambling. Addiction, 97(5), 487–499. doi:10.1046/j.1360-0443.2002.00015.x.
Blaszczynski, A., & Nower, L. (2008). Differences in attitudes toward money between subgroups of gamblers: Implications for smart card technologies and an exploration of the tool and drug theories of money in gambling. Australia: University of Sydney.
Blaszczynski, A., Steel, Z., & McConaghy, N. (1997). Impulsivity in pathological gambling: The antisocial impulsivist. Addiction, 92(1), 75–87.
Breen, R., & Zuckerman, M. (1999). `Chasing’ in gambling behavior: Personality and cognitive determinants. Personality and Individual Differences, 27(6), 1097–1111. doi:10.1016/s0191-8869(99)00052-5.
Coventry, K., & Norman, A. C. (1997). Arousal, sensation seeking and frequency of gambling in off-course horse racing bettors. British Journal of Psychology, 88(4), 671–681. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8295.1997.tb02664.x.
Dickerson, M., Cunningham, R., England, S., & Hinchy, J. (1991). On the determinants of persistent gambling. III. Personality, prior mood, and poker machine play. Substance Use and Misuse, 26(5), 531–548. doi:10.3109/10826089109058903.
Dickman, S. (1990). Functional and dysfunctional impulsivity: Personality and cognitive correlates. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58(1), 95–102. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.58.1.95.
Eysenck, S. B. G., & Eysenck, H. J. (1977). The place of impulsiveness in a dimensional system of personality description. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 16(1), 57–68. doi:10.1111/j.2044-8260.1977.tb01003.x.
Ferris, J., & Wynne, H. (2001). The Canadian problem gambling index: User manual. Ottawa: The Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.
Gainsbury, S., & Blaszczynski, A. (2011). The appropriateness of using laboratories and student participants in gambling research. Journal of Gambling Studies, 27(1), 83–97. doi:10.1007/s10899-010-9190-4.
Gambling Research Australia. (2005). Problem gambling and harm: Towards a national definition. Retrieved July 6, 2012 from www.gamblingresearch.org.au.
Gehring, W. J., & Willoughby, A. (2002). The medial frontal cortex and the rapid processing of monetary gains and losses. Science, 295(5563), 2279–2282. doi:10.1126/science.1066893.
Goudriaan, A., Oosterlaan, J., de Beurs, E., & Van den Brink, W. (2004). Pathological gambling: A comprehensive review of biobehavioral findings. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 28(2), 123–141. doi:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2004.03.001.
Gu, R., Lei, Z., Broster, L., Wu, T., Jiang, Y., & Luo, Y. (2011). Beyond valence and magnitude: A flexible evaluative coding system in the brain. Neuropsychologia, 49(14), 3891–3897. doi:10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2011.10.006.
Hing, N., & Breen, H. (2001). Profiling lady luck: An empirical study of gambling and problem gambling amongst female club members. Journal of Gambling Studies, 17(1), 47–69. doi:10.1023/a:1016640332005.
KreuSsel, L., Hewig, J., Kretschmer, N., Hecht, H., Coles, M. G. H., & Miltner, W. H. R. (2012). The influence of the magnitude, probability, and valence of potential wins and losses on the amplitude of the feedback negativity. Psychophysiology, 49(2), 207–219. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8986.2011.01291.x.
Linnet, J., RØJskjÆR, S., Nygaard, J., & Maher, B. A. (2006). Episodic chasing in pathological gamblers using the Iowa gambling task. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 47(1), 43–49. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9450.2006.00491.x.
Maccallum, F., Blaszczynski, A., Ladouceur, R., & Nower, L. (2007). Functional and dysfunctional impulsivity in pathological gambling. Personality and Individual Differences, 43(7), 1829–1838. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2007.06.002.
Miller, N., & Currie, S. (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.
Monaghan, S., Blaszczynski, A., & Nower, L. (2009). Consequences of winning: The role of gambling outcomes in the development of irrational beliefs. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy, 37(01), 49–59. doi:10.1017/S135246580800502X.
Neighbors, C., Lostutter, T., Cronce, J., & Larimer, M. (2002). Exploring college student gambling motivation. Journal of Gambling Studies, 18(4), 361–370. doi:10.1023/a:1021065116500.
Nower, L., & Blaszczynski, A. (2008). Recovery in pathological gambling: An imprecise concept. Substance Use and Misuse, 43(12–13), 1844–1864. doi:10.1080/10826080802285810.
Nower, L., & Blaszczynski, A. (2010). Gambling motivations, money-limiting strategies, and precommitment preferences of problem versus non-problem gamblers. Journal of Gambling Studies, 26(3), 361–372. doi:10.1007/s10899-009-9170-8.
Nower, L., Derevensky, J., & Gupta, R. (2004). The relationship of impulsivity, sensation seeking, coping, and substance use in youth gamblers. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 18(1), 49–55. doi:10.1037/0893-164X.18.1.49.
O’Connor, J., & Dickerson, M. (2003a). Impaired control over gambling in gaming machine and off-course gamblers. Addiction, 98(1), 53–60. doi:10.1046/j.1360-0443.2003.00232.x.
O’Connor, J., & Dickerson, M. (2003b). Definition and measurement of chasing in off-course betting and gaming machine play. Journal of Gambling Studies, 19(4), 359–386. doi:10.1023/A:1026375809186.
Petry, N. (2005). Pathological gambling: Etiology, comorbidity, and treatment. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Raylu, N., & Oei, T. (2002). Pathological gambling: A comprehensive review. Clinical Psychology Review, 22(7), 1009–1061. doi:10.1016/s0272-7358(02)00101-0.
Roby, K., & Lumley, M. (1995). Effects of accuracy feedback versus monetary contingency on arousal in high and low frequency gamblers. Journal of Gambling Studies, 11(2), 185–193. doi:10.1007/bf02107114.
Sharpe, L. (2002). A reformulated cognitive-behavioural model of problem gambling: A biopsychosocial perspective. Clinical Psychology Review, 22(1), 1–25.
Steel, Z., & Blaszczynski, A. (1998). Impulsivity, personality disorders and pathological gambling severity. Addiction, 93(6), 895–905. doi:10.1046/j.1360-0443.1998.93689511.x.
Weatherly, J., Sauter, J., & King, B. (2004). The “big win” and resistance to extinction when gambling. The Journal of Psychology, 138(6), 495–504. doi:10.3200/jrlp.138.6.495-504.
Wood, R., & Griffiths, M. (2007). A qualitative investigation of problem gambling as an escape-based coping strategy. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 80(1), 107–125. doi:10.1348/147608306x107881.
Wood, R., Gupta, R., Derevensky, J., & Griffiths, M. (2004). Video game playing and gambling in adolescents: Common risk factors. Journal of Child & Adolescent Substance Abuse, 14(1), 77–100. doi:10.1300/J029v14n01_05.
Wulfert, E., Franco, C., Williams, K., Roland, B., & Maxson, J. (2008). The role of money in the excitement of gambling. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 22(3), 380–390. doi:10.1037/0893-164X.22.3.380.
Wulfert, E., Roland, B., Hartley, J., Wang, N., & Franco, C. (2005). Heart rate arousal and excitement in gambling: Winners versus losers. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 19(3), 311–316. Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/pubs/journals/adb/index.aspx.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Crewe-Brown, C., Blaszczynski, A. & Russell, A. Prize Level and Debt Size: Impact on Gambling Behaviour. J Gambl Stud 30, 639–651 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-013-9379-4
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-013-9379-4