What predicts esports betting? A study on consumption of video games, esports, gambling and demographic factors (original) (raw)
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Gamers Who Gamble: Examining the Relationship Between Esports Spectatorship and Event Wagering
Journal of Emerging Sport Studies, 2020
During recent years, while electronic sports (esports) has increasingly become a positive mainstream cultural phenomenon, it also may have several socioeconomic implications, such as the growth of esports betting. Much like betting in sport, betting on esports has become a prominent form of gambling. However, there is still a paucity of knowledge on the demographic characteristics of this gambling cohort, particularly in regard to its relationship to video game play and spectatorship. In the present study, past-year video gamers (N = 1368) completed an online survey. Survey questions inquired about their esports event spectating, video game play, and esports betting behaviours, as well as general demographic questions. Video gamers who bet on esports were a distinct cohort from their counterparts: younger, more likely to be male, lower frequency of video game play, higher frequency of esports spectatorship, and more likely to watch esports in a social setting (e.g., with others). By providing a background on gamers' behaviours this work contributes to the growing body of research into the dynamic profile of esports play, spectatorship, and gambling. Findings are reflective of the growing interrelation of gambling and gaming behaviours, a subject garnering increasing attention from governments, regulatory agencies, public health specialists and clinicians, and the related industries themselves.
Defining the esports bettor: evidence from an online panel survey of emerging adults
International Gambling Studies, 2020
Competitive video gaming (esports) is a growing multinational , billion-dollar industry. Esports cultures replicate traditional sports cultures, involving elite athletes, teams, league sponsorships, large viewing audiences, high profile leagues and championships, and opportunities to bet on outcomes. However, little is known about people who bet on esports, it is generally considered a niche practice. Using data from the Emerging Adults Gambling Study, a nonprobability survey of 3549 people aged 16-24 living in Great Britain, the profile of esports bettors was compared with those who bet on other sports and non-gamblers. Those who bet on esports were more likely to be male, to be from nonwhite ethnic groups, to be heavily involved in playing digital games themselves, and to have higher rates of gambling involvement and problem gambling. Multivariate analysis showed a strong relationship between engaging in gambling-like practices within digital games and esports betting (for example, the purchase of loot boxes for money, or betting skins on external websites). Frequency of playing digital games was not associated with esports betting, suggesting it is not how often someone engages with digital games that is correlated with esports betting, but rather the different type of practices they undertake when playing video games.
Investigating relationships between video gaming, spectating esports, and gambling
An established body of research exists in which playing video games has been associated with potentially problematic behaviours, such as gambling. An issue highlighted by the recent emergence of game-based gambling practices such as loot boxes, social network casinos, free-to-play game mechanics, and gambling using virtual goods and skins. This study investigates relationships between a range of gambling activities and the consumption of video games in general, and the newly emergent phenomenon of esports in particular. In addition, these practices are considered in relation to established measures assessing game addiction and problematic gambling. The study employs Partial Least Squares modelling to investigate data gathered via an international online survey (N = 613). Video game addiction was found to be negatively associated with offline gambling, online gambling, and problem gambling. Video game consumption had only small, positive association with video game-related gambling and problem gambling. Consumption of esports had small to moderate association with video game-related gambling, online gambling, and problem gambling. The primary finding of this study are that contemporary video games are not, in themselves, associated with increased potential for problematic gambling, indeed, the position that problem gaming and problem gambling are fundamentally connected is questioned.
Twenty years since the Internet transformed gambling products and services, the convergence of online games and gambling has initiated a new means of consuming Internet-based media. Gambling specifically connected to eSports is a significant development, not only offering a new avenue for existing gambling products to be inserted into gaming media but also affording several novel experiences (e.g. skins and loot boxes). This study assesses participation rates and demographic characteristics of eSports spectators who gamble via an international online survey (N = 582). The sample highlighted the prevalence of young, often under-age, males in eSports-related gambling activities. Participation in gambling, and gambling-like activities, was found to be 67%, with rates of problematic and potentially problematic gambling in the sample being 50.34%. Finally, increased gambling is associated with increased spectating of eSports. Although the results are not generalisable to the wider population, they suggest a need for increased attention, from academia and regulators, regarding newly emergent gambling behaviours in contemporary digital culture.
Gaming Law Review, 2017
The esports betting market remains predominantly unregulated, although regulated sites have begun offering options to wager on these types of events. Previously, esports has been considered a niche market sector with participants differing from traditional sports and race bettors. However, as esports increasingly becomes absorbed into mainstream markets, it is important to understand the comparative similarities and differences in characteristics and behaviours between esport and traditional sports bettors. In particular, with regulators increasingly attempting to reduce use of offshore gambling sites, it is important to determine the extent to which those who bet on esports are more likely to access and engage in unregulated sites and activities. This paper classified and compared the characteristics of 501 Australians reporting participation in both sports and esports (n=160), or only in sports (n=341) bets online in the past month. Measures assessed use of online onshore and offshore sites, factors used to select gambling sites, and perceived advantages/disadvantages of using onshore compared to offshore sites. Findings suggested that the two groups were distinct in several ways; esports bettors were younger, more highly educated, had higher incomes and were represented by a greater proportion of females and individuals from Asian ethnic backgrounds. This group additionally reported starting gambling more recently and frequently overall, and expressed a preference to gamble on illegal offshore sites as opposed to domestically-licensed sites. Sports bettors were more likely to select domestic sites seeking more reliable and safe experiences, in contrast to esports bettors, who were motivated by the gambling experience, regardless of where a site was regulated. Results suggested that sports bettors perceived greater disadvantages of using offshore sites, and that this acted to deter access. In contrast, esports bettors sought a specific experience and were willing to use offshore sites. It is concluded that domestic operators need to provide a competitive online gambling environment and meet customer demands if online gamblers are to be deterred from using offshore sites. Gainsbury-Gambling behaviours and preferences of online esports and sports bettors
Intensity and gambling harms: Exploring breadth of gambling involvement among esports bettors
Gaming Law Review, 2017
Esports bettors may represent an emerging cohort of gamblers. Concerns have been expressed about the vulnerability of these gamblers because of their young age and potential high engagement in Internet and game use. It is important to investigate whether esports bettors represent a cohort migrating to include other forms of gambling, or existing online gamblers adopting esports into their gambling repertoire. The current study aimed to specifically look at the overall gambling involvement and problem gambling severity of esports bettors as compared to sports bettors. An online survey of 501 Australian sports bettors (n=160 esports and sports; n=341 sports only) found that esports bettors participated in significantly more forms of gambling (breadth), and in each form more often (intensity). Esports bettors had significantly higher problem gambling severity scores on a self-report measure. These results are consistent with previous findings that Internet problem gamblers have a high overall gambling involvement. This study suggests that Australian online gamblers have adopted esports betting in addition to other gambling activities, rather than representing a new group of online gamblers. As esports betting is a relatively new product increasingly offered by licensed operators, ongoing research is needed to monitor trends in use. Online gambling sites should include play management tools and the ability to self-exclude from all online gambling forms offered and educational campaigns may be needed to educate consumers on the risks associated with high gambling involvement. Gainsbury-Breadth and intensity of gambling involvement and harms
2021
Recent years have seen increasing academic attention to the ways in which the convergence of video gaming and gambling creates novel activities, relationships, and business practices. The scale and pace of this convergence has been such that observers have referenced not only the gamification of gambling but, additionally, the gamblification of gaming. The phenomenon of esports, or competitive video game play, is the environment which is most obviously characterised by this process, combining as it does both novel forms of gamblified content and established gambling activities from the world of traditional sports. Given the concerns about the normalisation of gambling in young people there is a pressing need to investigate the ways in which the consumption of esports, as a gamblified media product, is associated with participation in gambling activities. The findings of this study highlight the importance of spectating esports as a predictor of involvement in gambling associated wit...
Journal of Behavioral Addictions
Background and aimsMany new digital gambling-like activities such as loot boxes, esports betting, skin betting, and token wagering have recently emerged and grown in popularity. This scoping review aimed to: (a) synthesize the existing empirical research literature on gambling-like activities and their associations with gambling and video gaming behaviors, including problem gambling and video gaming; (b) identify sociodemographic, psychological, and motivational factors associated with engagement in gambling-like activities; and (c) identify research gaps and areas for further research.MethodsA systematic search of Ovid, Embsco, and ProQuest databases and Google Scholar was conducted in May 2021 and last updated in February 2022. The search yielded a total of 2,437 articles. Articles were included in the review if they were empirical studies that contained quantitative or qualitative results regarding the relationship between gambling-like activities and gambling or gaming.ResultsTh...
Journal of Emerging Sport Studies
During recent years, while electronic sports (esports) has increasingly become a positive mainstream cultural phenomenon, it also may have several socio-economic implications, such as the growth of esports betting. Much like betting in sport, betting on esports has become a prominent form of gambling. However, there is still a paucity of knowledge on the demographic characteristics of this gambling cohort, particularly in regard to its relationship to video game play and spectatorship. In the present study, past-year video gamers (N = 1368) completed an online survey. Survey questions inquired about their esports event spectating, video game play, and esports betting behaviours, as well as general demographic questions. Video gamers who bet on esports were a distinct cohort from their counterparts: younger, more likely to be male, lower frequency of video game play, higher frequency of esports spectatorship, and more likely to watch esports in a social setting (e.g., with others). B...