Exploring the relationship between Positive Play and perceived knowledge in traditional sports gambling

The growing accessibility of gambling in the United States, fueled by legalization and online platforms, has increased the need to examine both problem and responsible gambling, particularly among sports gamblers. Sports betting is often viewed as a skill-based activity, in which knowledge and skill are perceived to influence betting outcomes. The present research examines how perceived sports gambling knowledge relates to Positive Play behaviors and beliefs, as measured by the Positive Play Scale (PPS), which assesses responsible gambling from the gambler’s perspective. Participants (n = 396; Mage = 51.3, SD = 14.4, 69.9% men) were sports gamblers drawn from the fourth wave of a longitudinal sample recruited via YouGov Opinion in the United States. They rated their perceived knowledge of sports they had bet on in the past 6 months, reporting high confidence in their knowledge of the sport they identified as their preferred choice. Greater perceived knowledge was associated with lower Positive Play, particularly with poorer Gambling Literacy. These findings suggest that heightened confidence in one’s sports gambling knowledge may reflect overconfidence rather than accurate understanding, which may undermine responsible gambling practices. These results highlight the importance of addressing overconfidence in interventions aimed at promoting safer sports gambling behaviors.