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Effects of Personality and Gender on Fantasy Sports Game Participation: The Moderating Role of Perceived Knowledge

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Abstract

Although 30 million individuals are engaged in fantasy sports games in the United States, little is known about the personality, attitudes, and intentions of fantasy sports game participants. This study (N = 244) explored the role of gender, sensation seeking (SS), locus of control (LOC), and need for cognition (NFC) in predicting attitudes and intentions relative to participating in fantasy football league. A domain-specific construct (e.g., perceived football knowledge: PK) was employed as a moderator to control the potential attenuating effects of personality and related human behavior. A moderated multiple regression technique (MMR) examined the first-order and lower-order interaction effects on attitudes and behavioral intentions toward fantasy games. For males (n = 123), SS, LOC, and PK were related to both attitudes and intentions toward participating and PK acted as a moderator between LOC and intentions. For females (n = 121), none of the personality traits was associated with attitudes or intentions. The applied and theoretical implications of the findings are discussed along with future directions for research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sport Management Program, Department of Kinesiology, University of Central Missouri, Humphreys 222, Warrensburg, MO, 64093, USA

    Woo-Young Lee

  2. Sport Management, University of Michigan, 1402 Washington Heights, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109, USA

    Dae Hee Kwak

  3. Sport Management Program, Department of Kinesiology, Indiana University, 1025 E. 7th St., HPER 112, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Choonghoon Lim & Paul M. Pedersen

  4. Texas Woman’s University, Denton, TX, USA

    Kimberly S. Miloch

Authors
  1. Woo-Young Lee
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  2. Dae Hee Kwak
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  3. Choonghoon Lim
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  4. Paul M. Pedersen
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  5. Kimberly S. Miloch
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Correspondence to Choonghoon Lim.

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Lee, WY., Kwak, D.H., Lim, C. et al. Effects of Personality and Gender on Fantasy Sports Game Participation: The Moderating Role of Perceived Knowledge. J Gambl Stud 27, 427–441 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10899-010-9218-9

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