Abstract
Fantasy sports is a growing industry with a reported 56.8 million individuals participating in the United States and Canada alone in 2015. Whereas this activity has attracted considerable public attention, little research has examined its impact on adolescents in spite of their high rates of gambling. The current study examined the relationship between regular participation (more than once a month) in sport-relevant gambling activities among adolescents and those identified as being at-risk for a gambling problem. Questionnaire responses were collected from high school students (N = 6818; 49 % male) in Wood County, Ohio, United States. Statistical analyses revealed that regular involvement in sports betting, fantasy sports betting, and daily fantasy sports betting among adolescents was associated with a higher risk of gambling problems. Further, although males participate more frequently in these activities, females who participate have a stronger likelihood of being at-risk. Students aged 16–19 years old are at a higher risk for developing a gambling problem compared to younger adolescents when regularly engaging in sports-related gambling. Moreover, regularly participating in daily fantasy sports is the strongest predictor of at-risk gambling behavior in 13–15 year old students. A hierarchical logistic regression supports that controlling for gender and age, all forms of sport-relevant gambling activities are significant predictors of at-risk gambling. This study contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the impact of sports betting and fantasy sports on adolescents and establishes an initial step for future studies to further investigate these relationships.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Burge, A. N., Pietrzak, R. H., & Petry, N. M. (2006). Pre/early adolescent onset of gambling and psychosocial problems in treatment-seeking pathological gamblers. Journal of Gambling Studies, 22, 263–274. doi:10.1007/s10899-006-9015-7.
Casey, B. J., & Jones, R. M. (2010). Neurobiology of the adolescent brain and behavior: Implications for substance use disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 49(12), 1189–1201. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2010.08.017.
Davis, N. W., & Duncan, M. C. (2006). Sports knowledge is power: Reinforcing masculine privilege through fantasy sport league participation. Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 30(3), 244–264. doi:10.1177/0193723506290324.
de Water, E., Cillessen, A. H. N., & Scheres, A. (2014). Distinct age-related differences in temporal discounting and risk taking in adolescents and young adults. Child Development, 85(5), 1881–1897. doi:10.1111/cdev.12245.
Delfabbro, P., & Winefield, A. (2000). Predictors of irrational thinking in regular slot machine gamblers. The Journal of Psychology, 134(2), 117–128. doi:10.80/00223980009600854.
Derevensky, J. L. (2007). Youth gambling and problem gambling: Another high risk behavior. Retrieved from http://youthgambling.mcgill.ca/en/PDF/Publications/2007/Brazil1.pdf.
Derevensky, J. (2012). Teen gambling: Understanding a growing epidemic. New York: Rowman & Littlefield Publishing.
Derevensky, J. L., & Gupta, R. (2000). Prevalence estimates of adolescent gambling: A comparison of the SOGS-RA, DSM-IV-J, and the GA 20 questions. Journal of Gambling Studies, 16(2–3), 227–251. doi:10.1023/A:1009485031719.
Derevensky, J. L., Gupta, R., & Winters, K. (2003). Prevalence rates of youth gambling problems: Are the current rates inflated? Journal of Gambling Studies, 19(4), 405–425. doi:10.1023/A:1026379910094.
Donati, M. A., Chiesi, F., & Primi, C. (2013). A model to explain at-risk/problem gambling among male and female adolescents: Gender similarities and differences. Journal of Adolescence, 36(1), 129–137. doi:10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.10.001.
Edgerton, J. D., Melnyk, T. S., & Roberts, L. W. (2015). Problem gambling and the youth-to-adulthood transition: Assessing problem gambling severity trajectories in a sample of young adults. Journal of Gambling Studies, 31(4), 1463–1485. doi:10.1007/s10899-014-9501-2.
Elton-Marshall, T., Leatherdale, S. T., & Turner, N. E. (2016). An examination of internet and land-based gambling among adolescents in three Canadian provinces: Results from the youth gambling survey (YGS). BMC Public Health, 16(1), 277. doi:10.1186/s12889-016-2933-0.
Emshoff, J., & Perkins, A. (2008). College problem gambling literature review. Retrieved from http://www2.gsu.edu/~psyjge/Rsrc/College Gambling Lit Review.pdf.
European Gaming and Betting Association. (2016). Sports betting: Commercial and Integrity issues. Retrieved from http://www.rga.eu.com/data/files/2015_PR/Sports_Betting_Report_FINAL.pdf.
Fantasy Sport Trade Association. (2015). Industry demographics. Retrieved May 30, 2016, from http://fsta.org/research/industry-demographics/.
Hing, N., Russell, A. M. T., Vitartas, P., & Lamont, M. (2015). Demographic, behavioural and normative risk factors for gambling problems amongst sports bettors. Journal of Gambling Studies, 32(2), 625–641. doi:10.1007/s10899-015-9571-9.
Hodgins, D. C. (2004). Using the NORC DSM Screen for Gambling Problems as an outcome measure for pathological gambling: Psychometric evaluation. Addictive Behaviors, 29(8), 1685–1690. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2004.03.017.
Marchica, L., & Derevensky, J. (2015). Fantasy sports: A growing concern among college student-athletes. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction,. doi:10.1007/s11469-015-9610-x.
Marchica, L., & Derevensky, J. L. (2016). Examining personalized feedback interventions for gambling disorders: A systematic review. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 5(1), 1–10. doi:10.1556/2006.5.2016.006.
Martin, R. J., & Nelson, S. (2014). Fantasy sports, real money: Exploration of the relationship between fantasy sports participation and gambling-related problems. Addictive Behaviors, 39(10), 1377–1382. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.05.017.
NCRG. (2013). Fact sheet on gambling disorders. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gI1BT7E58WU.
Potenza, M. N., Steinberg, M. A., McLaughlin, S. D., Wu, R., Rounsaville, B. J., & O’Malley, S. S. (2001). Gender-related differences in the characteristics of problem gamblers using a gambling helpline. American Journal of Psychiatry, 158(9), 1500–1505. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.158.9.1500.
Rahman, A. S., Pilver, C. E., Desai, R. A., Steinberg, M. A., Rugle, L., Krishnan-Sarin, S., et al. (2012). The relationship between age of gambling onset and adolescent problematic gambling severity. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 46(5), 675–683. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychires.2012.02.007.
Ricijas, N., Dodig, D., Huic, A., & Kranzelic, V. (2011). Habits and characteristics of adolescent gambling in urban areas—Research report. Zagreb. Retrieved from https://bib.irb.hr/datoteka/654654.IZVJESTAJ_-_KOCKANJE_ADOLESCENATA.pdf.
Ricijas, N., Dodig Hundric, D., & Huic, A. (2016). Predictors of adverse gambling related consequences among adolescent boys. Children and Youth Services Review, 67, 168–176. doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2016.06.008.
Ruihley, B. J., Billings, A. C., & Rae, C. (2014). As time goes by: Deciphering the fantasy sport playing teenager. Sport Marketing Quarterly, 23(4), 187–197. Retrieved from https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=100121385&site=ehost-live.
Strashin, J. (2016). Online sports betting ignored by Canadian government while U.S. acts NBA wants’ different approach’ to sports betting Canada slow to react. CBC sports. Retrieved from http://www.cbc.ca/sports/sports-gambling-canada-united-states-regulation-1.3565832.
Toce-Gerstein, M., Gerstein, D. R., & Volberg, R. A. (2009). The NODS-Clip: A rapid screen for adult pathological and problem gambling. Journal of Gambling Studies, 25(4), 541–555. doi:10.1007/s10899-009-9135-y.The.
United States Census Bureau. (2015). QuickFacts U.S. Census. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/quickfacts/table/PST045215/39173.
Volberg, R. A., Gupta, R., Griffiths, M. D., Olason, D. T., & Delfabbro, P. H. (2010). An international perspective on youth gambling prevalence studies. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 22(1), 3–38. doi:10.1515/IJAMH.2010.22.1.3.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Marchica, L., Zhao, Y., Derevensky, J. et al. Understanding the Relationship Between Sports-Relevant Gambling and Being At-Risk for a Gambling Problem Among American Adolescents. J Gambl Stud 33, 437–448 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9653-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-016-9653-3