GENDER, GAMBLING SETTINGS, AND GAMBLING BEHAVIORS AMONG UNDERGRADUTE POKER

PLAYERS

Eva Monson, PhD

Research Chair on GamblingDepartment of Sociology and Anthropology

Concordia University

_________________________International Gambling Conference 2016

Auckland, New ZealandFebruary 12th, 2016

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Gambling problems are up to three times higher than in the general adult population 3.7% MR & PG in a Canadian-wide campus

survey1 compared to 2.0% among adults2 Gambling as a leisure or glamourous activity

1. Kairouz, 2005

2. Cox et al., 2005

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

Students gamble in a variety of settings1 Settings have influence on gambling outcomes

across different gambling occasions1

e.g., time and money spent It may be by looking for where the action is2, and by

catching the specificities of gambling places3 that one can further understand gambling behaviors.

1. Kairouz, Paradis, & Monson, 2015

2. Goffman, 1961

3. Lyons, 2002

GENDER

Prevalence and frequency of gambling, and related problems are higher among male college students 1

Similar to general population studies2

Research has focused on individual factors contributing to gender differences in gambling

but social behaviors are influenced by context

1. Ellenbogen, Jacobs, Derevensky, Gupta, & Paskus, 2008; Martin et al., 2010 Adams, Sullivan, Horton, Menna, & Guilmette, 2007

2. Kairouz, Paradis, Nadeau, Hamel, & Robillard 2015

POKER

Theoretically, poker is gender neutral In practice, historically dominated by men In recent years, an increasing number of women online

Perhaps due to anonymity of internet WSOP Main Event: 4% women1; online: 26.2%2

Settings may be an important component of the gender differences observed in poker behaviours

1. WSOP, 2015

2. Parke et al., 2007

It is through the settings in which college male and female gamblers play poker that gender is related to poker behaviors.

Gender Pokersettings

Poker behaviors

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

THE UNIVERSITY STUDENT GAMBLING HABIT SURVEY/ ENHJEU PROJECT 2008

Representative sample of 2,139 full-time undergraduate students

Those who reported having bet money on poker during the last 12 months (n = 368) were retained 242 men, 126 women

3 Montreal universities and 2 affiliated schools Response rate: 41%

Dependent variable Overall PGSI score Past year poker spending Past year gambling debt

Mediators - Location Internet Public location Private residence

Independent variables Gender: male as

reference category

Control variables Year of study Disposable income University

MEASURES

Gender PGSI Index

0 to 27 Money spent on poker - last 12 months

0 to 1,000$ Accumulated poker debt - last 12 months

0 to 8,000$ Prevalence of gambling on poker by location

Public location, private residence, online

MEASURES

Gender

Private residence

Public locations

Internet

Score PGSI

Poker Spending

Poker Debts

c’

a1

a2

a3

b1

b2

b3

Graphic representation of a multiple mediator model. The total effect (c) is composed of the direct effect (c’) and the indirect effects (a1-3b1-3).

ANALYSIS

RESULTS

Summary of mediation results controlling for year of study and disposable money (5000 bootstrap samples)

Total effect (c)

Effect of IV on M (a)

Effect of M on DV (b)

Total Indirect effect

Direct effect (c’)

Specific Indirect effects (ab)

B coeff. B coeff. B coeff. Point est.

B coeff. Point est.

PGSI Private

Public + + + Internet + + + + + +

Poker Spending

Private

Public + + + Internet + + + + +

RESULTS

Gender exerts an effect on poker behaviors.

This effect is mediated through the prevalence of gambling on poker that occurs in different locations.

It is not gender in itself that structures poker behaviors but rather

the locations where students gamble on poker, given their gender.

CONCLUSION

Gambling needs to be understood from a perspective focusing as much on contexts as individuals

Highlights the need to tailor prevention not only to specific groups such as college students but also to account for the risk embedded in specific settings.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ENHJEU participants Fonds de recherche sur la société et la culture (FRQ-SC) Fonds de la recherche en santé

Centre de réadaptation en dépendance de Montréal - Institut universitaire

Sylvia Kairouz, Philippe Laperle, and Nicole Arsenault

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