Clustering Finnish Gambler Profiles Based on the Money and Time Consumed in Gambling Activities

Gambling involves consumption of gamblers’ money and time. Gamblers are a heterogeneous group, and in addition to grouping gamblers based on personality factors, it is also important to find different gambler profiles with respect to their gambling behavior. Using the nationally representative survey ‘Finnish Gambling 2011’ (N = 4484), this article studies the subtypes of Finnish gamblers based on the frequency of gambling and the amounts of money and time used in different gambling forms. Cluster analysis reveals six profiles of gamblers, from infrequent gamblers to omnivorous gamblers. In the further analysis of the clusters, it was found that the highest problem gambling prevalence was in the groups of sport betting + electronic gaming machine gamblers and omnivorous gamblers, which were also both dominated by men. Certain gambling consumption patterns and risk factors for problem gambling are related to both socio-demographic backgrounds of the gamblers as well as the structural and situational characteristics of the games. The results have implications for the prevention of problem gambling, as some consumption patterns may be connected with the probability of developing gambling problems.