Report
Investigating the relationship between reasons for gambling and different gambling activities
This short report explores the reasons people give for taking part in gambling and how they relate to different gambling activities.
Key findings
The key findings for this report are:
- the reasons people give for taking part in gambling activities group together into 5 themes; monetary, social, enhancement (gambling for fun or excitement), coping and/or escapism (gambling to alleviate boredom or to help when feeling tense), and challenge (gambling to compete or for the mental challenge)
- monetary reasons are not the main motivation for taking part in most gambling activities
- there are differences between the reasons associated with taking part in gambling activities online and taking part in gambling activities in person
- online activities tending to be more strongly associated with motives relating to coping and escapism, whereas in person activities tend to be more strongly associated with enhancement and social reasons.
This short report explores the reasons people give for taking part in gambling and how they relate to different gambling activities. It shows how the reasons given for gambling can be grouped into 5 broad themes: enhancement, challenge, coping and escapism, social, and money, and that different themes are associated with different gambling activities.
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Reasons for gambling - Definitions
Last updated: 30 January 2025
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