Leino Tony, Torsheim Torbjørn, Blaszczynski Alex, Griffiths Mark, Mentzoni Rune, Pallesen Ståle, Molde Helge
Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Bergen, Christiesgate 12, 5015, Bergen, Norway.
Department of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen, Christiesgate 12, 5015, Bergen, Norway.
J Gambl Stud. 2015 Dec;31(4):1297-315. doi: 10.1007/s10899-014-9477-y.
The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between the structural characteristics and gambling behavior among video lottery terminal (VLT) gamblers. The study was ecological valid, because the data consisted of actual gambling behavior registered in the participants natural gambling environment without intrusion by researchers. Online behavioral tracking data from Multix, an eight game video lottery terminal, were supplied by Norsk-Tipping (the state owned gambling company in Norway). The sample comprised the entire population of Multix gamblers (N = 31,109) who had gambled in January 2010. The individual number of bets made across games was defined as the dependent variable, reward characteristics of a game (i.e., payback percentage, hit frequency, size of winnings and size of jackpot) and bet characteristics of a game (i.e., range of betting options and availability of advanced betting options) served as the independent variables. Control variables were age and gender. Two separate cross-classified multilevel random intercepts models were used to analyze the relationship between bets made, reward characteristics and bet characteristics, where the number of bets was nested within both individuals and within games. The results show that the number of bets is positively associated with payback percentage, hit frequency, being female and age, and negatively associated with size of wins and range of available betting options. In summary, the results show that the reward characteristics and betting options explained 27% and 15% of the variance in the number of bets made, respectively. It is concluded that structural game characteristics affect gambling behavior. Implications of responsible gambling are discussed.
本研究的目的是检验视频彩票终端（VLT）赌徒的结构特征与赌博行为之间的关系。该研究具有生态效度，因为数据由参与者自然赌博环境中记录的实际赌博行为组成，未受到研究人员的干扰。来自一款八游戏视频彩票终端Multix的在线行为跟踪数据由挪威国有博彩公司Norsk-Tipping提供。样本包括2010年1月进行赌博的所有Multix赌徒（N = 31109）。各游戏的投注次数被定义为因变量，游戏的奖励特征（即回报率、命中频率、赢奖大小和头奖大小）和游戏的投注特征（即投注选项范围和高级投注选项的可用性）作为自变量。控制变量为年龄和性别。使用两个单独的交叉分类多级随机截距模型来分析投注次数、奖励特征和投注特征之间的关系，其中投注次数嵌套于个体和游戏之中。结果表明，投注次数与回报率、命中频率、女性身份和年龄呈正相关，与赢奖大小和可用投注选项范围呈负相关。总之，结果表明奖励特征和投注选项分别解释了投注次数方差的27%和15%。研究得出结论，游戏的结构特征会影响赌博行为。文中还讨论了负责任赌博的意义。
