In this study, the researchers looked at the extent to which sports betting motives explain the relationships between depression, anxiety, and sports betting problems. Data came from 915 adults living in Ontario, Canada, who had placed a sports bet in the past three months. There were 221 people who made in-play bets, 531 who made single-event bets, and 163 made traditional bets.
Both depression and anxiety were related to greater problem gambling. For both types of mental health symptoms, the relationship with problem gambling was most strongly explained by coping motives. Depression and anxiety symptoms were related to more frequent sports betting mainly through enhancement motives. These relationships did not differ across genders or sports betting types.
