GAMBLING HABITS AMONG VIDEO GAME PLAYERS

Abstract

Introduction: Gambling is a legal and socially accepted recreational activity that can progress into a serious public health problem. The prevalence of gambling is higher among men of younger age and lower economic status, and older divorced men. There are many similarities between playing video games and gambling that the industry encourages by implementing the elements gambling into video games, and the elements of video games in gambling, but despite the similarities, in problem use we recognize two separate behavioral disorders.
Methods and participants: The research was conducted on an intentional and judgmental sample of adolescents and young adults who play video games. A questionnaire containing questions on sociodemographic characteristics, video game playing and gambling habits, and the SOGS-RA was used to assess the gambling risk.
Results: Most of the participants gamble very rarely or not at all, but 5.1% of the participants gamble every day. Almost all of the participants play several types of games of chance, with lottery games, sports betting and games on electronic devices leading the way. Pronounced problems with gambling were recognized in 28.3% of the research participants.
Discussion: The lifetime prevalence of gambling in this research is similar to the results of other research conducted among video game players, although the results of all research in this area are not homogeneous. When comparing the results of gambling among video game players and the general population, the prevalence of gambling among video game players is significantly higher than in the general population.
Conclusion: Adolescent and young adult video game players play more games of chance, and prefer gambling games that have a higher addictive potential. Considering the age, easy accessibility and the difficult recognition of the development of problem gambling, it is important to focus preventive activities on the youngest age group.