Understanding disordered patterns of online sports betting

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Author(s): Parke, Adrian ; Parke, Jonathan

Journal: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction

Year Published: 2019

Date Added: June 11, 2019

The researchers examined behavioural data from 19 online sports bettors with problem gambling. They also interviewed five of those participants. The researchers identified an ‘online sports betting loop’ enabled by new features of modern online sports betting. These features include live betting, cash out, micro-event betting, and instant depositing. Also, situational features in everyday environment, such as ease of access via mobile technology and constant exposure to sports betting marketing, make it hard for online sports bettors to stay away from gambling. It is important to increase breaks in play and limit the use of those features involved in a loop of rapid and continuous online sports betting.

Citation: Parke, A., & Parke, J. (2019). Transformation of sports betting into a rapid and continuous gambling activity: A grounded theoretical investigation of problem sports betting in online settings. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-0049-8

Article DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-018-0049-8

Keywords: continuous gambling ; grounded theory ; microbets ; online gambling ; problem gambling ; speed of play ; sports betting ; structural characteristics

Topics: Information for Operators ; Online Gambling ; Sports Betting

Conceptual Framework Factors: Gambling Types ; Exposure - Gambling Setting ; Types - Structural Characteristics ; Exposure - Accessibility ; Gambling Exposure

Response Rate: 2%

Study Design: Mixed Methods

Study Population: Online sports bettors (N=19) who met the criteria for problem gambling

Sampling Procedure: An online survey was distributed to all British-based customers with an active account on Unibet plc, a leading online gambling operator. For this study, behavioural data were analyzed for 19 participants who were primarily involved in online sports betting and identified as having problem gambling. Five of those participants also agreed to participate in an in-depth semi-structured interview.

Study Funding:

This study was funded by GambleAware under Grant awarded 01042016.

Declaration:

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest. Dr Adrian Parke has previously acted as a paid responsible gambling consultant for several commercial gambling firms and regulatory bodies. He has previously been awarded research funding from the charity GambleAware. Dr Jonathan Parke has received funding from a variety of industry and government sources for research and advisory services on the topics of player protection, gambling harm minimisation and player motivation.