Gambling and gambling problem among elite athletes and their professional coaches: findings from a Swedish total population survey of participants in four sports

Abstract

This study assessed the following among elite athletes and their coaches in Sweden: (i) prevalence of gambling and 'at risk for gambling problems' (PGSI 3+); and (ii) relations between 'at risk for gambling problems' and attitudes towards gambling, experiences of gambling, and individual and demographic factors. A total of 1438 athletes and 401 coaches, in four sports, completed an online survey. Overall, 2% of female athletes and 13% of male athletes were classified as being 'at risk for gambling problems'. Using an ordinal logistic regression, the results showed associations between 'at risk for gambling problems' and eight of the investigated variables: 'talk about gambling during training', 'coaches positive attitude towards gambling', 'gambling companies encourage gambling', 'I have gambled on own game', 'someone I know has gambled on their own game', 'gambling is important in the family', 'someone in my acquaintance have/had a gambling problem', 'alcohol consumption' among the athletes. Coaches of men's teams had a higher prevalence (7%) than did coaches of women's teams (3%). The findings suggest that the sports clubs should have greater knowledge about gambling problems as well as a communication strategy of their acquired knowledge to their athletes and coaches.

Psychological Distress and Problem Gambling in Elite Athletes during COVID-19 Restrictions—A Web Survey in Top Leagues of Three Sports during the Pandemic

“…In addition, when including only those who did not report to be never-gamblers, the association with gambling problems remained, and increased gambling during the crisis also became significantly associated with increased alcohol drinking during the same period, also a finding consistent with previous general population data [31]. Thus, the present findings indicate that in a population, elite athletes, mainly in men, with a previously known risk increase in problem gambling compared to the general population [19,20], individuals who increase their gambling behavior in response to an overall crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic may need specific preventive and supporting interventions and may be a group with a more pronounced change in life-style habits during the crisis than others. These findings further point to the importance of highlighting the connection between gambling and the world of sports and to highlight discussions around responsible gambling and gambling attitudes in male athletes.…”

“…Contrary to the hypotheses, having increased gambling or alcohol drinking was largely unrelated to perceived distress from COVID-19 (except for increased alcohol drinking being associated with worry about one's own future in sports). The hypothesis of a gender difference in moderate-risk/problem gambling in athletes was confirmed; this was clearly more common in men than in women and thus corroborates previous findings on elevated problem gambling prevalence in male-, but not female-elite athletes [19,20].…”

“…Problem gambling traditionally has been more common in men in the general population, but gender differences in prevalence may have become narrower during the past few years [39,40]. However, males appear to be even more over-represented with respect to problem gambling in elite athletes [19,20] and in fitness-involved young adults and adolescents [48]. In the present study, as in previous studies in athletes, problem gambling was clearly more common in men and more common in this group than likely would be the case in the general population [21,39], whereas gambling on a moderate-risk or problem level was even non-existing in women.…”

“…While substance use disorders are typically likely to be less prevalent in adult elite athletes during their active career [9], concerns have been raised about a likely increased risk in problem gambling. Problem gambling is known to be higher in elite athletes, at least in male athletes, than in the general population [18][19][20], making problem gambling particularly important to assess in that population.…”

The effect of social isolation on psychological stress and gambling in the COVID-19 pandemic

“…In terms of gender differences, psychological distress due to COVID-19 and an individual's concerns about their own future have been confirmed for depression and anxiety, while the condition associated with gambling has been reported to be more common in males. However, the increase in the frequency of gambling has also been reported to be independent of anxiety, depression, and psychological stress caused by COVID-19 [19,20]. Pathological gambling is more common in males in the general population, although gender differences in prevalence may have further narrowed in the past few years [21,22].…”