Hitting the jackpot: the influence of monetary payout on gambling behaviour |
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Authors: | Lena C. Quilty Daniela S. S. Lobo Martin Zack Courtney Crewe-Brown Alexander Blaszczynski |
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Affiliation: | 1. Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Department of Psychiatry, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada;2. School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia |
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Abstract: | Restrictions on monetary payout may promote player engagement in gambling as a form of entertainment rather than as a source of income. Our objective was to evaluate the effects of monetary prize magnitude upon gambling behaviour in a community sample, and the degree to which this association is moderated by gambling risk factors. One hundred and eighty-seven adults completed an online survey assessing motivation, impulsivity and affect. Participants were given a series of vignettes and asked to estimate how much they would gamble to win monetary prizes of increasing amounts with and without accrued gambling debt. Participants reported increased gambling in response to increased monetary payout. Debt moderated these outcomes, such that electronic gaming machine (EGM) and lottery expenditures and number of lottery games played decreased with increased debt; this effect was most pronounced at elevated monetary prizes. The association between duration of EGM play and monetary payout was moderated by gender only. Results suggest that self-reported gambling behaviours increased with monetary payout even across qualitatively different gambling products, and across gamblers with different motivations for gambling, levels of impulsivity, and negative affect. The restriction of monetary payouts warrants further research attention as a form of problem gambling prevention. |
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Keywords: | Gambling monetary payout debt motivation impulsivity |
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