Associations between financial gambling motives, gambling frequency and level of problem gambling: a meta‐analytic review

Abstract

Aims: Money is central to psychological definitions of gambling, but contemporary accounts of disordered gambling are ambiguous regarding the role of financial motives for gambling. The aims of the current research were to obtain meta-analytic weighted effect sizes for zeroorder associations of financial motives against disordered gambling and gambling frequency, as well as partial associations after controlling for other motives (e.g. coping). Design:A meta-analysis of the available literature through October 2019 was undertaken. Studies were identified from multiple sources (e.g., database search, consulting other researchers). PRISMA standards were followed when screening identified records and extracting relevant data. The data analytic plan was pre-registered.Setting: Cross-sectional studies that involved student, community, and clinical samples of people who gamble.Participants: Forty-one studies were included with 32,997 participants from different countries.Measurements: Validated self-report measures of financial motives for gambling alongside measures of either problem gambling and/or gambling frequency.Findings: Financial motives for gambling were positively associated with both disordered gambling, r = .34, [.30, .38], p =1.04 e-61 , and gambling frequency, r = .29, [.20, .37], p = 1.70 e-13 , with moderate effect sizes. The partial associations after controlling for overlapping variance with other gambling motives were also positive (disordered gambling: β = .18, [.14, .23], p = 2.53 e-15 ; gambling frequency: β = .16, [.08, .24], p = 9.45 e-5 ), with small-to-moderate effect sizes. The effect sizes were heterogenous and the extent of heterogeneity was high. Moderator analyses of the zero-order association involving gambling frequency indicated that effect sizes were larger for studies that used the Gambling Motives Questionnaire-Financial relative to studies that developed their own gambling motives measure. No further moderators were statistically significant.Conclusions: Financial motives are reliably and positively associated with both disordered gambling and gambling involvement and should be incorporated into etiological models of gambling disorder.

Mental Health Over Time and Financial Concerns Predict Change in Online Gambling During COVID-19

“…The short 4-item version was administered in wave 2 and assessed responses to key statements, including "How I feel about myself is largely based on the amount of money I have," "My moods are influenced by the amount of money I have," "People will think less of me if I don't have a lot of money," and "The opportunities that are available to me depend on the amount of money I have." The factor structure of the 4-item version was recently replicated using confirmatory factor analysis and was shown to have strict temporal measurement invariance among community gamblers over a one-month period (Tabri et al, 2021a(Tabri et al, , 2021b. Response options for each item were anchored at "not at all" (1) and "extremely" (5).…”

Population Screening of Gambling Behavior: Playing to Escape From Problems May Be a Key Characteristic of At-Risk Players

“…Gambling for socialization has been found to be less strongly related with problem gambling previously (32). Gambling to win money was one of the popular motives of gambling involvement in the current study and has been listed as an important reason of problematic gambling in the literature (33). Making money from gambling was viewed as desirable by both normal and problem gamblers in the study by Ricketts and Macaskill (15), but not as a credible outcome by the normal gamblers, suggesting that it is not the desire to earn financial gain that may distinguish problem gamblers, but the distorted perception of the likelihood of this happening, something that was not assessed in the current study.…”

Gambling and Financial Stress

“…Put differently, gambling results in financial stress because it weakens financial resilience. Based on the expositions of the gambler's fallacy (Blaszczynski & Nower, 2002;Tabri et al, 2022;Xu & Harvey, 2014), which is associated with the loss chasing behaviours of gamblers, those who suffer from problem gambling severity are more likely to experience loss of savings and overindebtedness, which renders them financially fragile. Their inability to raise adequate funding in times of emergency also means that they are more likely to be financially stressed.…”

“…On the one hand, there is existing theoretical and empirical evidence to support the expectation that problem gambling could lead to financial distress and decreased financial inclusion (e.g., Muggleton et al, 2021;Oksanen et al, 2018). Based on the theoretical expositions of the pathways model of problem and pathological gambling (e.g., Blaszczynski & Nower, 2002;Tabri et al, 2022), it is implied that problem gambling, which is developed through loss chasing behaviour, can lead to financial losses, with negative implications for financial stress. Generally, intense gambling can lead to loss of savings and accrued debt (Mathews & Volberg, 2013).…”