A behavioral economic investigation of the effect of sports wagering on alcohol demand and relations to gambling motives.

Sports wagering is associated with alcohol use and alcohol-related harm, and gambling can increase alcohol consumption and drinking urges. However, the effect of sports wagering on alcohol reward value remains unclear. The present study explored the interactive effect of placing a single-event sports wager and social context on alcohol demand (a behavioral economic measure of alcohol reward value) using context-adapted alcohol purchase tasks in a sample of individuals reporting past-month alcohol use and sports wagering (n = 425; Mage = 31.28; 71.29% male). Contrary to hypotheses, there were no differences in alcohol demand between context-adapted alcohol purchase tasks as a function of concurrent sports wagering (padj = .876-.924) or social context (padj = .170-.667). Exploratory analyses investigated relations between gambling motives and alcohol demand and the relations between various behavioral economic constructs and problem gambling. Omax was associated with an increased likelihood of problem gambling (OR = 1.02, padj = .03). Omax and elasticity were associated with financial gambling motives, but less so during concurrent gambling events, with concurrent sports wagering attenuating the relation between elasticity and financial motives (b = 0.34, padj = .003). Financial motives for gambling were positively associated with alcohol use broadly, but not with simultaneous drinking while gambling. These findings suggest relations between sports wagering and alcohol demand are complex-highlighting the need for future research into the sports wagering experience, specific sports wagering forms, and alcohol's role in sports culture to better understand the relation between alcohol use and sports wagering. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).