Navigating a Gambling Loss: Examining the Impact of Cognitive Appraisal and Sport Gambling Identity

Sport gambling, a complementary sport-related activity, has significant impacts on the spectator sport industry. However, although losses are the most common gambling outcomes and often lead to negative consequences, an examination of consumer response after gambling losses has been neglected. Guided by the transactional theory of stress and social identity theory, a cross-sectional survey design was applied to examine: (a) the direct effect of perceived controllability on future gambling intention and the indirect effect through challenge/threat appraisal, and (b) the moderating effects of sport gambling identity. Our results showed challenge appraisal partially mediated the relationship between perceived controllability and future gambling intention. Additionally, the indirect effect through challenge appraisal was conditional depending on the level of sport gambling identity. This research contributes to academia and the practical field by offering intertwined effects of cognitive appraisal and sport gambling identity as underlying mechanisms that determine behavioral responses after a gambling loss.