Sports Bettors: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Sports betting is associated with problematic gambling behaviours. However, little is known about the profile of sports bettors. Also, it is still unclear if there are useful abilities in sports betting. This systematic review aims to describe gambling habits and cognitions of sports bettors, and determine the roles of chance and skill in sports betting. Addressing the chance and skill distinction in sports betting would be helpful to identify which of sports bettors' cognitions are erroneous. Out of 991 studies identified in the databanks, 31 met the inclusion criteria of this review. Results indicate that these studies are mostly conducted with male samples aged from 30 to 50 years. These gamblers bet many times per week, with weekly averages ranging from 100 to 200$ CAD. Five studies examined the roles of chance and skill in sports betting, among which three showed that sports bettors perform better than chance in predicting results accurately, but they do not win more money than they would with a random selection, due to the structure of the game. The 11 studies that focused on cognitions indicate that sports bettors overestimate the influence of skill on the outcome of the game. These results support the need to further study the role of cognitions in the behaviours of sports bettors. It also offers insights concerning the distinction between chance and skill in sports betting.RésuméLes paris sportifs sont associés à des comportements de jeu problématiques. Cependant, on sait peu de choses sur le profil des parieurs sportifs. De plus, il est difficile de statuer si certaines habiletés seraient utiles dans les paris sportifs. Cette revue systématique vise à décrire les habitudes de jeu, les cognitions des parieurs sportifs, et à déterminer le rôle du hasard et des habiletés dans ces paris. Examiner la distinction entre le hasard et les habiletés aux paris sportifs serait utile afin de déterminer quelles cognitions entretenues par les parieurs sportifs sont erronées . Sur 991 études repérées dans les banques de données, 31 répondaient aux critères d’inclusion de cette revue. Les résultats indiquent que ces études sont principalement menées auprès d’échantillons masculins âgés de 30 à 50 ans. Ces joueurs parient plusieurs fois par semaine et misent en moyenne de 100 $ à 200 $ CA par semaine. Cinq études ont examiné les rôles du hasard et des habiletés dans les paris sportifs, parmi lesquels trois ont montré que les parieurs sportifs prédisent mieux les résultats sportifs que le hasard, mais ils ne gagnent pas plus d’argent qu’avec une sélection aléatoire, en raison de la structure du jeu. Les onze études portant sur les cognitions indiquent que les parieurs sportifs surestiment l’influence des habiletés sur l’issue du jeu. Ces résultats confirment la nécessité d’approfondir le rôle des cognitions dans les comportements des parieurs sportifs. Ils donnent également des pistes sur la distinction entre le hasard et les habiletés dans les paris sportifs.

The utilization and perception of sports betting experts (‘tipsters’) among sports bettors with gambling problems: a qualitative focus group interview study

“…In Spain, for instance, official data from the Ministry of Finance shows that 80% of online user accounts in the country are net losers or finish on a par with the bookmaker, with a minuscule percentage winning more than €300 a year (Direccion General de Ordenacion del Juego [Directorate General for the Regulation of Gambling], 2020). Consequently, the present authors contend that the cognitive distortions do not solely reside in thinking that sports betting is a skill-based game but that some sports bettors think they have greater skills than others (Browne et al, 2015;Mercier et al, 2018).…”

Conceptualising emotional and cognitive dysregulation amongst sports bettors; an exploratory study of ‘tilting’ in a new context

“…Participation was voluntary and respondents were not financially incentivised. Due to this lack of incentivisation alongside sports bettors often displaying impulsive traits [ 8 , 10 ], short versions of the scales were incorporated to reduce attrition rates and time expenditure when completing the survey. The structure of the survey involved the following sections: 1) demographic information and gambling behaviour; 2) perceived tilting frequency (past 6 months); 3) separating in-play and conventional sports bettors 4) in-play betting product feature scale; 5) SUPPS-P Impulsivity Scale; 6) PGSI; 7) OPTS-9; 8) GamCog PGS.…”

“…Correspondingly, sports bettors may be particularly vulnerable to gambling-related harm due to their distinct characteristics and specific cognitions compared to non-sports gamblers. These traits primarily include the tendency to emotionally invest in betting (due to team loyalty), acting impulsively, and misperceiving gambling-related risk [ 8 – 11 ]. Although the identification of these characteristics within the literature is insightful, they are typically presented as separate constructs with little emphasis placed upon how they operate in combination.…”

“…Poker players typically learn to ‘read’ the environment and the behaviours of their opponents whilst making economically underpinned decisions [ 26 ]. Similarly, sports bettors often utilise team/player/match statistics whilst evaluating odds-related information when placing bets [ 8 ]. Corresponding research evidence indicates that skill, knowledge, and expertise within both poker and sports betting may increase the frequency of successful bets [ 24 , 26 ].…”

A Multidisciplinary Perspective on Publicly Available Sports Data in the Era of Big Data: A Scoping Review of the Literature on Major League Baseball

“…However, research that crosses disciplinary boundaries is difficult to catalyze and structure, and to finance, evaluate, and publish (Viseu, 2015). Although baseball data have been used in many studies for a long time, most existing systematic literature reviews (Bakshi et al, 2020; Koseler & Stephan, 2017; Mercier et al, 2018) focus on a single research topic within a specific field. Little attention has been paid in sports science to the convergence of multiple scientific disciplines around public data resources and their data-driven consequences, and thus, knowledge gaps exist.…”