Impact of wagering inducements on the gambling behaviors of on-line gamblers: A longitudinal study based on gambling tracking data.

AIMS: To estimate whether the use of wagering inducements has a significant impact on the gambling behaviors of on-line gamblers and describe this temporal relation under naturalistic conditions.

DESIGN

This longitudinal observational study is part of the second stage of the Screening for Excessive Gambling Behaviors on the Internet (EDEIN) research program.

SETTING

Gambling tracking data from the French national on-line gambling authority (poker, horse race betting and sports betting) and from the French national lottery operator (lotteries and scratch games).

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 9306 gamblers who played poker, horse race or sports betting and 5682 gamblers who played lotteries and scratch games completed an on-line survey. The gender ratio was largely male (between 87.1% and 92.9% for poker, horse race betting and sports betting, and equal to 65.1% for lotteries). Median age ranged from 35 (sports betting) to 53 (horse race betting and lotteries).

MEASUREMENTS: The survey used the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) to determine the status of the gamblers (at-risk or not). Gambling tracking data included weekly gambling intensity (wagers, deposits), gambling frequency (number of gambling days), proxies of at-risk gambling behaviors (chasing and breadth of involvement) and use of wagering inducements.

FINDINGS: The use of wagering inducements was associated with an increase of gambling intensity [β between -0.06 (-0.08; -0.05) and 0.57 (0.54; 0.60)], gambling frequency [β between 0.12 (0.10; 0.18) and 0.29 (0.28; 0.31)] and at-risk gambling behaviors [odds ratio between 1.32 (1.16; 1.50) and 4.82 (4.61; 5.05)] at the same week of their use. This effect was stronger for at-risk gambling behaviors and at-risk gamblers.

CONCLUSIONS

Wagering inducements may represent a risk factor for developing or exacerbating gambling problems.