Profiling online gamblers : an exploratory study

Gambling is an act whereby people assess the likelihood of return versus risk. Although gambling has positive attributes, it represents a problem for many people because of its addictive nature, which can lead to negative social and financial consequences. Online gaming, a relatively recent phenomenon, represents a new alternative to traditional gaming methods such as slot machines, table games, card games and sports betting. This exploratory study reports on a sample of 58 online gamblers investigated using purposive sampling techniques to explore and compare the attitudes and behaviors of Generation X and Generation Y. Results of the study indicate that there is a significant positive correlation between 'internet use and internet gambling spending' and 'total gambling spending and internet gambling spending'. Furthermore, two significant differences between the generations were identified. First, Generation X spends more time on the internet and second, Generation X spends more money on internet gambling despite both generations exhibiting similar patterns of total spending of gambling. Further investigation revealed that Generation X has significantly higher income and education levels, which may in part logically explain this phenomenon. Implications from this research are discussed.