Gambling and gambling problem among elite athletes and their professional coaches: findings from a Swedish total population survey of participants in four sports. Issue 2 (3rd May 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Vinberg, Maria; Durbeej, Natalie; Rosendahl, Ingvar
• Is Part Of: International gambling studies. Volume 20:Issue 2(2020)
• Page Start: 262
• Page End: 281
• Publication Date: 2020-05-03
• Subjects: Gambling -- athletes -- sports gambling -- sport club policy -- sport sponsorship -- betting; Gambling -- Periodicals; 306.48205
• DOI: 10.1080/14459795.2020.1726990
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1445-9795

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This study assessed the following among elite athletes and their coaches in Sweden: ( i ) prevalence of gambling and 'at risk for gambling problems' (PGSI 3+); and ( ii ) relations between 'at risk for gambling problems' and attitudes towards gambling, experiences of gambling, and individual and demographic factors. A total of 1438 athletes and 401 coaches, in four sports, completed an online survey. Overall, 2% of female athletes and 13% of male athletes were classified as being 'at risk for gambling problems'. Using an ordinal logistic regression, the results showed associations between 'at risk for gambling problems' and eight of the investigated variables: 'talk about gambling during training', 'coaches positive attitude towards gambling', 'gambling companies encourage gambling', 'I have gambled on own game', 'someone I know has gambled on their own game', 'gambling is important in the family', 'someone in my acquaintance have/had a gambling problem', 'alcohol consumption' among the athletes. Coaches of men's teams had a higher prevalence (7%) than did coaches of women's teams (3%). The findings suggest that the sports clubs should have greater knowledge about gambling problems as well as a communication strategy of their acquired knowledge to their athletes and coaches.