Motivation and Gambling Involvement

Abstract

It is argued that motivation is a key determinant of gambling involvement. The hypothesis--that participants who exhibit a high self-determined motivational profile (i.e., engage in gambling for fun and have a sense of choice) will report a higher degree of involvement--was supported in a study conducted in Canada, with 245 gamblers who bet on horses. Also, the male participants were more involved in gambling than the female participants were.