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How Do Gamblers End Gambling: Longitudinal Analysis of Internet Gambling Behaviors Prior to Account Closure Due to Gambling Related Problems

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Abstract

Objective: To examine behavioral patterns of actual Internet gamblers who experienced gambling-related problems and voluntarily closed their accounts. Design: A nested case–control design was used to compare gamblers who closed their accounts because of gambling problems to those who maintained open accounts. Setting: Actual play patterns of in vivo Internet gamblers who subscribed to an Internet gambling site. Participants: 226 gamblers who closed accounts due to gambling problems were selected from a cohort of 47,603 Internet gamblers who subscribed to an Internet gambling site during February 2005; 226 matched-case controls were selected from the group of gamblers who did not close their accounts. Daily aggregates of behavioral data were collected during an 18-month study period. Main outcome measures: Main outcomes of interest were daily aggregates of stake, odds, and net loss, which were standardized by the daily aggregate number of bets. We also examined the number of bets to measure trajectory of gambling frequency. Results: Account closers due to gambling problems experienced increasing monetary loss as the time to closure approached; they also increased their stake per bet. Yet they did not chase longer odds; their choices of wagers were more probabilistically conservative (i.e., short odds) compared with the controls. The changes of monetary involvement and risk preference occurred concurrently during the last few days prior to voluntary closing. Conclusions: Our finding of an involvement-seeking yet risk-averse tendency among self-identified problem gamblers challenges the notion that problem gamblers seek “long odds” during “chasing.”

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Acknowledgements

The authors extend special thanks to Richard LaBrie, James Ware, Debi LaPlante, Sarah Nelson, Anja Broda, and Chrissy Thurmond for their important contributions to this project. Ziming Xuan had full access to all of the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

bwin.com, Interactive Entertainment, AG provided primary support for this study. The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), and the National Center for Responsible Gaming (NCRG) provided additional support. None of these supporters or any of the authors has personal interests in bwin.com and its associated companies that would suggest a conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, 677 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA, 02115, USA

    Ziming Xuan

  2. Division on Addictions, The Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School, 101 Station Landing, 2nd Floor, Medford, MA, 02155, USA

    Howard Shaffer

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  1. Ziming Xuan
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  2. Howard Shaffer
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Correspondence to Ziming Xuan.

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Xuan, Z., Shaffer, H. How Do Gamblers End Gambling: Longitudinal Analysis of Internet Gambling Behaviors Prior to Account Closure Due to Gambling Related Problems. J Gambl Stud 25, 239–252 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-009-9118-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-009-9118-z

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