Internet Gamblers: A Latent Class Analysis of Their Behaviours and Health Experiences

Abstract

In order to learn about the behaviours and health experiences of people who gamble on the Internet, we conducted an international online survey with respondents recruited via gambling and gambling-related websites. The mean (SD) age of the 4,125 respondents completing the survey was 35.5 (11.8) years, with 79.1% being male and 68.8% UK residents. Respondents provided demographic details and completed validated psychometric screening instruments for problem gambling, mood disturbances, as well as alcohol and substance misuse, and history of deliberate self harm. We applied latent class analysis to respondents' patterns of regular online gambling activities, and identified subgroups of individuals who used the Internet to gamble in different ways (L (2) = 44.27, bootstrap P = 0.07). We termed the characteristic profiles as 'non-to-minimal gamblers'; 'sports bettors'; 'casino & sports gamblers'; 'lottery players'; and 'multi-activity gamblers'. Furthermore, these subgroups of respondents differed on other demographic and psychological dimensions, with significant inter-cluster differences in proportion of individuals scoring above threshold for problem gambling, mood disorders and substance misuse, and history of deliberate self harm (all Chi (2)s > 23.4, all P-values <0.001). The 'casino & sports' and 'multi-activity-gamblers' clusters had the highest prevalence of mental disorder. Internet gamblers appear to be heterogeneous but composed of several subgroups, differing markedly on both demographic and clinical characteristics.

The interaction between gambling activities and modes of access: A comparison of Internet-only, land-based only, and mixed-mode gamblers

“…Consistent with previous research, overall involvement did appear to be related to problem gambling (Gainsbury et al, in press a;Holtgraves, 2009;LaPlante et al, 2009;Philander & MacKay, in press), as shown by MMGs having the highest participation rates in multiple activities and the highest average PGSI scores. This is consistent with the analysis of UK gamblers, which found that online-only gamblers who only played a few forms of gambling were less likely to experience gambling problems (Lloyd et al, 2010). These results suggest that participating in multiple gambling activities may be a risk factor for gambling problems which is supported by IGs engaging in the lowest number of different activities and having the lowest problem gambling rates.…”

“…The majority of UK Internet gamblers use the Internet for single gambling activities and have few gambling problems (Lloyd et al, 2010). In contrast, multi-activity gamblers were more likely to be male, single, unemployed with below-average income, and most likely to experience gambling problems.…”

Are Poker Players All the Same? Latent Class Analysis

“…Similarly, many of these studies only consider one single type of poker player-often online-making it difficult to identify the existence of subgroups among poker players. However, latent class studies conducted among Internet gamblers show that these Internet gamblers are heterogeneous and composed of several subgroups, differing markedly on both demographic and clinical characteristics (Lloyd et al 2010 ).…”

“…The primary advantage of LCA over alternative approaches, such as cluster analysis, is the reliance on a model-based method for estimating population characteristics derived from sample data, adjustment of estimates for measurement error, formal statistical procedures for determining the number of classes, use of probabilities as the basis for interpretation of results, and flexible treatment of variance among classes (Magidson and Vermunt 2002;Nylund et al 2007 ). Although, not yet used in poker research, LCA has been reported in recent studies interested in the existence of a specific pattern of gambling activities in different populations (Boldero et al 2010 ;Cunningham-Williams and Hong 2007 ;Goodriaan et al 2009 ;Lloyd et al 2010 ).…”

La perception du poker selon les joueurs adeptes : un jeu qui les distingue

“…Les JHA ne peuvent donc pas, du point de vue des participants, et de certains chercheurs, être conceptualisés comme étant des activités homogènes présentant les mêmes facteurs de risque (Dickerson, 1993 ;Bjerg, 2010 ;Lloyd et al, 2010). En fait, des chercheurs vont même jusqu'à suggérer que des processus psychologiques différents et spécifi ques seraient mis en oeuvre lors du développement du jeu pathologique selon le type de jeu (Dickerson, 1993 ;Petry, 2005).…”