Impact of wagering inducements on the gambling behaviors of on‐line gamblers: A longitudinal study based on gambling tracking data

AIMS: To estimate whether the use of wagering inducements has a significant impact on the gambling behaviors of on-line gamblers and describe this temporal relation under naturalistic conditions. DESIGN: This longitudinal observational study is part of the second stage of the Screening for Excessive Gambling Behaviors on the Internet (EDEIN) research program. SETTING: Gambling tracking data from the French national on-line gambling authority (poker, horse race betting and sports betting) and from the French national lottery operator (lotteries and scratch games). PARTICIPANTS: A total of 9306 gamblers who played poker, horse race or sports betting and 5682 gamblers who played lotteries and scratch games completed an on-line survey. The gender ratio was largely male (between 87.1% and 92.9% for poker, horse race betting and sports betting, and equal to 65.1% for lotteries). Median age ranged from 35 (sports betting) to 53 (horse race betting and lotteries). MEASUREMENTS: The survey used the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) to determine the status of the gamblers (at-risk or not). Gambling tracking data included weekly gambling intensity (wagers, deposits), gambling frequency (number of gambling days), proxies of at-risk gambling behaviors (chasing and breadth of involvement) and use of wagering inducements. FINDINGS: The use of wagering inducements was associated with an increase of gambling intensity [β between -0.06 (-0.08; -0.05) and 0.57 (0.54; 0.60)], gambling frequency [β between 0.12 (0.10; 0.18) and 0.29 (0.28; 0.31)] and at-risk gambling behaviors [odds ratio between 1.32 (1.16; 1.50) and 4.82 (4.61; 5.05)] at the same week of their use. This effect was stronger for at-risk gambling behaviors and at-risk gamblers. CONCLUSIONS: Wagering inducements may represent a risk factor for developing or exacerbating gambling problems.