Some personality traits appear to be associated with problem gambling among US adults who bet on sports.

A new study shows that if you are young, religious, and have a high income, you may be more likely to gamble on sports.

It also shows that betting on sports, playing in daily fantasy leagues, and betting on e-sports all increase the risk of getting addicted to gambling. Researchers indicate that while most of us can bet on sports without getting into trouble, those who gamble on sports are more likely to develop gambling issues than those who don’t.

Recent US Supreme Court decisions, rising fantasy and daily fantasy sports promotion, and the emergence of e-sports have all driven new ways for US citizens to wager on sports. However, research in this field has lagged in the United States.

To overcome this lag, in this new study, the study authors evaluated 4 types of sports wagering: general sports betting, paid fantasy league play, daily fantasy league play, and e-sports wagering.

An oversample of US people who gamble on sports was recruited using YouGov in March of 2022. These adults were matched and weighted to 2019 American Community Survey demographic norms across age, gender, education, census region, race/ethnicity, and education.

Individuals surveyed disclosed their participation in the aforementioned four types of sports wagering throughout the preceding 12 months. Gamblers filled out the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI; range = 0-27; mean [SD], 3.78 [6.04]; α = .95; ω = 0.95), which led to the categorization of scores so that respondents scoring 0 (47% of gamblers in sample) were categorized as no-risk gamblers, 1 to 2 (20.6%) as low risk, 3 to 7 (12.3%) as moderate risk, and 8 and above.

According to the authors, sports betting is a niche, but not rare, way for adults in the US to spend their free time. Younger men with higher family incomes are more likely to bet than other adults.

They found that betting on e-sports, playing in daily fantasy leagues, and betting on sports, in general, are all linked to more signs of problem gambling.

Although many people probably believe sports betting to be a safe and acceptable recreational activity, their findings indicate that those who bet on sports may be more likely to experience gambling-related issues.

This study‘s limitation—that it relied on cross-sectional self-report in a nonprobability sample—shows the necessity for more thorough investigations into these phenomena.

As the number of places to bet on sports grows in the US, it is important that psychiatry and mental health research and caretake sports betting into account.

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