Lottery play and problem gambling

Abstract

This study sought to determine if lottery play along with other possible causes engenders problem gambling. Problem gambling was defined as a progression and measured by three scales: Gambling behavior, loss of control over gambling and gambling consequences. Possible causes of problem gambling included lottery play, personality traits, exposure to gambling, leisure pursuits, marital status, residence, and other background characteristics of respondents. Respondents are a stratified random sample of adult residents of Iowa contacted by telephone in May–June, 1989. It was found that lottery play is a predictor of gambling behavior, as well as loss of control and gambling consequences when previous stages of problem gambling were deleted from the analysis as predictor variables. Other predictors of the latter stages of problem gambling include its earlier stages, as well as personality traits and various background characteristics of respondents. The relevance of the findings for theory and future research on gambling are discussed.