ArticleJournal of behavioral addictions2021
Are esports bettors a new generation of harmed gamblers? A comparison with sports bettors on gambling involvement, problems, and harm.
Article in Journal of behavioral addictions, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Understanding Esports-related Betting and Gambling: A Systematic Review of the Literature.Journal of gambling studies · 2024Pooled it
- Targeting the next generation of gamblers? Gambling sponsorship of esports teams.Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · 2023Pooled it
- Between the Lines: Legal Consciousness and Consumer Perceptions of Online Sports Betting.Journal of gambling studies · 2025Article
- Bidirectional relationships between desire thinking and gambling disorder tendency: Insights from a longitudinal study of Esports gamblers.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2025Article
- Scrutinizing the Gateway Relationship Between Gaming and Gambling Disorder: Scoping Review With a Focus on the Southeast Asian Region.JMIR serious games · 2025Review
- Harmful types of gambling: changes and emerging trends in longitudinal helpline data.European journal of public health · 2024Article
- A scoping review of the association between loot boxes, esports, skin betting, and token wagering with gambling and video gaming behaviors.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2023Article
- Safer esports for players, spectators, and bettors: Issues, challenges, and policy recommendations.Journal of behavioral addictions · 2023Review
- Skin Gambling Contributes to Gambling Problems and Harm After Controlling for Other Forms of Traditional Gambling.Journal of gambling studies · 2023Article
- Motivations for Esports Betting and Skin Gambling and Their Association with Gambling Frequency, Problems, and Harm.Journal of gambling studies · 2023Article
- Sports wagering in the context of addictive disorders: results from a census-matched U.S. sample.Cogent mental health · 2023Article
- Symptoms of Problem Gambling Among US Adults Who Wager on Sports.JAMA network open · 2022Article
- Adolescent betting on esports using cash and skins: Links with gaming, monetary gambling, and problematic gambling.PloS one · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsEsports betting is expanding in popularity, yet little is known about who participates in this niche gambling activity. This study aimed to determine whether esports bettors are more vulnerable to harms and problems than gamblers engaged in traditional sports betting.
methodsData were collected from 298 regular esports bettors and 300 sports bettors (who regularly bet on traditional sports, but not esports). These groups were compared on demographics, gambling involvement, problem gambling, and gambling-related harms.
resultsCompared to sports bettors, esports bettors were more likely to be younger, university-educated, employed (lower income earners), and speak a non-English language at home. Esports bettors gambled on fewer traditional gambling activities in the last 12 months, but compared to sports bettors, gambled more frequently on some activities, were more likely to meet problem gambler criteria (64.8.% vs 17.3%), and experience at least one gambling-related harm (81.9% vs 45.3%). Being an esports bettor significantly predicted greater problem gambling severity and gambling-related harms. More frequent esports skin betting and skin gambling (on games of chance) were significant predictors of gambling problems amongst esports bettors. DISCUSSION AND
conclusionThe results provide preliminary evidence that esports bettors are more likely to experience gambling problems compared to their sports betting counterparts, potentially stemming from their involvement in emerging video-game related gambling products.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.