A Cross-Sectional Examination of the Relationships Between Sports and Race Betting Motives, Expenditure, Problem Severity, and Harm in Young Australian Adults

Sports and race betting are high-risk gambling activities used by young adults, yet limited research has examined how motives relate to outcomes assessed separately for each betting activity. This online survey examined associations between sports- and race-specific betting motives (enhancement, financial, social, coping) and betting expenditure, problem severity, and harm among young Australian adults. The sample comprised 188 participants aged 18-30 years (84.6% male; M age = 24.11), including 185 sports betting participants and 127 race betting participants (defined as ≥2 bets in the past month and in a typical month over the past year). Separate linear regressions showed that financial motives were positively associated with sports betting expenditure (β = .16, p = .006), with no associations for race betting expenditure. Financial and coping motives were independently, positively associated with sports and race betting problem severity (sports: financial β = .34; coping β = .39; race: financial β = .19; coping β = .46) and harm (sports: financial β = .23; coping β = .47; race: financial β =.22; coping β = .49) in multivariable models (all p ≤ .004), demonstrating small-to-moderate associations for financial motives and moderate associations for coping motives. At the univariable level, social motives were positively associated with sports betting problem severity (β = .19, p = .007), and enhancement motives were positively associated with race betting problem severity (β = .32, p = .001). Findings highlight financial and coping motives as potential targets for early identification and prevention of harmful betting among young adults.