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Impulsive Sports Betting: The Effects of Food or Substance Consumption

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Abstract

The present study aimed to explore how food or substance consumption (e.g., experiencing hunger, or having consumed alcohol or recreational drugs) could shape consumer impulsive spending on sports betting products. Based on a large online sample of Australian sports bettors, we found that participants with higher hunger level, or having consumed more alcohol or recreational drugs, tended to have increased impulsive bet size. These impulsiveness effects had both direct and indirect effect components. The significant direct effects confirmed that positive relationships directly existed between hunger, alcohol consumption, or recreational drug consumption and impulsive bet size, even when all potential mediators and covariates were statistically controlled. Moreover, results regarding specific indirect effects demonstrated that hunger, alcohol consumption, or recreational drug consumption was also indirectly linked with impulsive bet size, via their relationships with both promotional and financial influences, rather than social influences. Furthermore, participants’ Problem Gambling Severity Index score was positively associated with their impulsive bet size. These findings support and complement the literature on impulsivity as well as the research on strategies for staying in control of gambling, and have implications for consumers, regulators, and treatment/help providers.

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by internal funding from the Centre for Gambling Education and Research at Southern Cross University. AR was a member of this Centre at the time that the data were collected. A previous version of this paper was presented at the Australian & New Zealand Academy of Management (ANZAM) 2018 Conference. EL was a Visiting Scholar at the University of Waterloo’s Gambling Research Lab, while this manuscript was revised in preparation for journal submission. We greatly appreciate comments and suggestions from the ANZAM 2018 Conference attendees as well as members of the Waterloo Gambling Research Lab.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory, School of Business and Law, CQUniversity, Rockhampton, QLD, Australia

    En Li

  2. Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity, Bundaberg, QLD, Australia

    Nerilee Hing

  3. Experimental Gambling Research Laboratory, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, CQUniversity, Sydney, NSW, Australia

    Alex M. T. Russell

  4. Department of Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Marketing, La Trobe Business School, La Trobe University, Bundoora, VIC, Australia

    Peter Vitartas

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  1. En Li
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  2. Nerilee Hing
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to En Li.

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Conflict of interest

En Li has received research grants from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation and Gambling Research Australia. He declares that he has no conflicts of interest in relation to this manuscript. Nerilee Hing has received research funds from the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation, Gambling Research Australia, Australian Government Department of Social Services, Alberta Gambling Research Institute, the Australian Gambling Research Centre, the Queensland, New South Wales, Victorian and South Australian Governments, the Australian Research Council, and Australia’s National Research Organisation for Women’s Safety. She has also received consultancy funds from Echo Entertainment and Sportsbet and an honorarium from Singapore Pools for membership of its International Advisory Committee. She declares that she has no conflicts of interest in relation to this manuscript. Alex Russell has received funding from Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation; the NSW State Government; Queensland Justice and Attorney-General; Gambling Research Australia; National Association for Gambling Studies; Australian Communications and Media Authority and the Alberta Gambling Research Institute. He has received industry funding for an evaluation of problem gambling amongst casino employees from Echo/Star Entertainment Group. He is also affiliated with the University of Sydney. He declares no conflicts of interest in relation to this manuscript. Peter Vitartas has received research funds from the Queensland Department of Justice and Attorney-General and declares no conflicts of interest in relation to this manuscript.

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. The research project reported in this paper was approved by the CQUniversity Human Research Ethics Committee (approval number: H16/06-163).

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Li, E., Hing, N., Russell, A.M.T. et al. Impulsive Sports Betting: The Effects of Food or Substance Consumption. J Gambl Stud 36, 539–554 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-020-09938-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-020-09938-1

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