Why do young adults gamble online? A qualitative study of motivations to transition from social casino games to online gambling

 Why gamble online young adults? An qualitative study of the motivations behind online gambling.

Abstract

This study examined how young adults can start gambling online. It was particularly interesting to see if young adults experienced social casino gambling. There is growing concern that online gambling may be made easier by social casino gaming. Three focus groups (N=21) were held with young adults who gamble online. They were from two major Canadian Universities. Participants pointed out the importance of peer influence, as well as incentives (e.g. signing up bonuses), as factors that motivated them into online gambling. Participants also saw a link between online gambling, social casino games. A number of young adults reported that they switched to online gambling after only a few months. Advertising and the high pay out rates on free-to play gambling games may be some of the factors that could lead to an increase in online gambling. This suggests that efforts to prevent disordered gaming should be aware of the potential of social casinos to open the door to online gambling, particularly for the vulnerable.

The gambling landscape has changed significantly over the past decade due to the advent of computers and the Internet. The gambling industry has moved beyond brick and mortar venues like casinos or racetracks. With a few clicks, you can access gambling activities online. Social media sites, such as Facebook, have received increased attention from researchers working in the field gambling studies (Wohl and al. 2017). Partly, this is due to social media sites becoming a popular platform where people can access online gambling venues via hyperlinks embedded into advertisements (Abarbanel und al. 2016). Through applications, users can also play free-to-play simulated casino games on social media. These free-to play simulated gambling game have been called social casino games (Gainsbury and al. 2014). Evidence suggests that playing social casino games could be used as a gateway to gambling with real money. See Wohl et.al. 2017).

The current research utilized a qualitative approach to examine the online gambling experiences of young adults. This was done to identify the mechanisms and processes that could lead them to gamble online. This means that the research sought to determine the motivations behind gambling online and how they transition from playing social casino games into online gambling. Young adults' experiences with online gambling were examined because of their propensity (McBride 2009, Derevensky 2009), to gamble online (Derevensky 2016), to play online casino games (Derevensky 2016, Gainsbury 2016), and to their higher rates of disordered gaming (Welte et. al. 2011). A focus was also placed on social casino games, since it is urgently needed to understand the issues related to the gaming-socialmedia crossover.

Online gambling and social gambling among young adults

The Internet has transformed the way people do many things, including gambling. Online gambling offers players a greater level of accessibility and confidentiality than traditional land-based gambling. It is also easier to access the games at any time of day, 24 hours a day, and can be done from the privacy of your own home. This has been highlighted as a concern by regulators and policymakers (Gainsbury 2015; Gainsbury & Wood 2011; Rasanen and al. 2013). Particularly, online gambling is often considered a dangerous form of gambling that could increase the chance of developing a gambling disorder. (Gainsbury, et al. 2015b; Griffiths et al. 2009; McBride and Derevensky 2009; Olason et al. 2011; Wood et al. 2007). It is worth looking at factors that motivate young adults to gamble online. Wohl et. al. have shown that online gambling is influenced by social casino gaming. 2017) and young people are becoming more familiar with social casino games (Kim, et. al. 2016).

Social casino games are a very popular form entertainment. Millions of people play them each day (Derevensky, Gainsbury 2016; Martin 2014. They are easily accessible on social networking sites such as Facebook, where you can play embedded social casino games (Gainsbury et. al. 2014). Social casino games are a popular product on social networks and portray gambling as glamorous and positive (Gainsbury, et al. 2015a). SuperData 2016 indicates that advertisements can have a significant effect on the engagement with social casino games. Not to be overlooked, some social casinos games are now owned and operated by online gambling companies that advertise their gambling sites within the game. This facilitates migration from social casino gaming into online gambling (Schneider 2012.

Converging evidence suggests that social casino gamers are now migrating online (Gainsbury, et al. 2016; Kim et al. 2015). Gainsbury and colleagues found that social casino games increase gambling behaviors among people who play both gambling and social gaming. 2016, 2017; Hollingshead et al. 2016). Teens and young adults also love social casino games. According to Elton-Marshall and colleagues, approximately 9% of Canadian students reported that they had played social casinos games. 2016). Another study that looked at a large number of adolescents over a long period found that social gambling games were significantly associated with the transition to real-money gaming (Dussault, et al. in press). In focus groups with university students who use social media, all participants indicated that they knew about the numerous opportunities to play Facebook social casino games. This supports the popularity of these games (Kim et. al. 2016).

Motivations for switching to online gambling using social casino gaming

Teens and young adults love playing social casino games. This may help them transition to online gambling. However, research has not focused on the possible mechanisms and processes that could influence this transition, including the role played social casino games. Hollingshead, Hollingshead, and coauthors. (2016) claimed that players of social casino games have motivations similar to those for online gambling. They play for entertainment, boredom relief, and other social reasons. Additionally, some social casino players are motivated to practice their skills before they can play for real money online. Hollingshead, Delfabbro (2016) also agree. King and Delfabbro (2016) provided a framework to help understand factors that could increase or decrease social casino gaming and online betting among adolescents. Their two pathways model identifies both protective (e.g.. early losses and awareness of the risks) and risk factors. (e.g.. peer pressure early big wins, greater certainty of winning) which may cause adolescents exposed to social casino gaming to either become disinterested in it or increase their gambling habits in the future.

This research aimed to contribute to the growing literature regarding the possible connection between online gambling and social casinos gaming. To accomplish this, we conducted focus groups with online gamblers aged 18 and over to examine their motivations for online gambling, as well as the role that social casino games might play in facilitating or initiating online gambling. Focus groups allow you to share your personal experiences and still get the benefit of hearing from others. Focus groups offer a way to get a wide range of information in an exploratory fashion.

Methods

Participants

One of three focus groups that was about the experience of young adults with online gambling, consisted of 21 young adults (18 men and 3 women) from two Canadian Universities. This study was targeted at people who gamble online. Our interest was expressed as a focus group for online gamblers with "opinions or experiences regarding online gaming".

The criteria for inclusion were: College students aged 18-24 who reported that they gamble online at least twice a month. There were two methods of recruiting. First, all first year students of a large Canadian university complete a short survey about disordered betting. It also contained items that evaluated online gambling. This enabled us to recruit people who met the inclusion criteria for our focus groups. Only those who had consented to being contacted were allowed to participate in future studies. Another method was to visit large classrooms, and then advertise the program at both universities.

We tried our best to recruit equally many male and female online gamblers, but we couldn't do it despite all our efforts. Seven individuals, who initially agreed that they would participate in the study, later informed the researchers before the meeting that they were unable to do so due to logistical issues (i.e. school and work commitments, unanticipated appointments). Participants in the initial group were paid $20 and those in both the second and third groups were given $40. This was to incentivize more participants. Participants were also offered food and beverages during the discussions.

Method and materials

Participants were given information about the study objectives, and asked to sign informed consent forms. Participants were informed that they had the right to withdraw from the study at any time and without penalty. The participants were then asked to complete a brief questionnaire about their background, including demographic information (gender and age), frequency of gaming, and how informed they feel they are on online gambling.

In a larger project to assess online gambling among young people, we asked the group a number of open-ended question. The research involved two open-ended questions. The first asked about the general factors that encourage young adults to gamble online. I'd like to get a better idea of what it is that leads to online gambling. Based on your knowledge, what factors, the events or the influences lead a young adult to gamble online? The second evaluated the connection between social casino and online gambling. It also included potential mechanisms. Is it your opinion that these games can lead someone to look for online gambling sites? Also, can these games be considered a way to get started on gambling online with real cash?

The focus group discussions were led by a licensed clinical psychologist, who is skilled in conducting them. He was accompanied by two note-takers. Each group lasted approximately 60-75 minutes and was held at two Canadian universities. To protect data, the focus group was recorded by two recording devices. The focus group discussions were then transcribed and coded by two professional coders after they were completed. The two raters agreed on the initial categories. This included general themes as well as the number of categories. After any disagreements were noted, the data was reviewed twice more to reach consensus. After discussion between raters, the consensus reached for categorical names was reached. NVivo 10, qualitative research software, was used for qualitative analyses to organize and quantify the data.

Results

52% of people indicated they gamble online less frequently than once a week. 48% said they gamble more often than that. Seventy-six% of individuals stated that they gambled more frequently or for longer periods than they intended (61.9% sometimes; 14.4% often). Participants were asked to use a seven-point Likert scale to describe how well-informed they felt about online gambling. The mean score was 4.38. A majority (85.7%) of the sample indicated that they only play on one or two sites. However, 14.3% indicated that they enjoy trying out different sites. More than half (62%) of participants admitted to playing social casino games on Facebook or other platforms. There were three participants who reported spontaneously that they switched from playing for pleasure to online gambling. One participant stated that they transitioned within two weeks. Another reported that they made the switch to real money gambling within a few months.

The main factors that lead to online gambling

There were many themes to be found regarding the factors that led these emerging adults to gamble online. Focus groups revealed that some participants felt that online gambling was an integral part of their lives. Many participants shared that they had learned to gamble first with friends, then switched to online gambling when their friends weren’t available. Getting the Most Out of Internet Casinos