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.
Themes of the Reasons for Gambling questionnaire
The Reasons for Gambling Questionnaire (RGQ) was designed to identify the reasons people give for gambling across 5 broad domains, these were: gambling for social reasons, enhancement reasons, monetary reasons, recreational reasons, and coping reasons.
To understand if these themes were also evident with the Gambling Survey for Great Britain (GSGB), a Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was run using the data collected by the RGQ from those who had gambled in the past 12 months. The PCA revealed 5 themes or ‘components’1 that were largely consistent with the 5 themes listed above.
Table 2 shows how each question from the RGQ loads onto each of the 5 components. Loadings can range between -1 and 1. A positive value means the question has a positive association with that component (hence someone who said ‘always’ to that specific reason is likely to have a high value for that component), whilst a negative value means the reverse (it should be noted that this specific PCA did not return any negative loadings).
The closer a loading is to 1, the stronger the association between that question and the component. Table 2 excludes loadings lower than 0.3, as these have a weaker impact on the component; excluding them allows the patterns between questions and components to be seen more clearly. The questions with the highest loadings will dominate the component, although it is possible (as in the case of mental challenge) for a question to be associated with more than one component.
Table 2: Results from the Principal Component Analysis: Question loadings
The table shows loadings for principal component analysis with varimax factor rotation. Loadings can range between -1 and 1 and indicate how strongly each question loads onto each component.
| Reasons for gambling: I take part in these activities… | Component 1: Enhancement | Component 2: Coping and/or escape | Component 3: Challenge | Component 4: Social | Component 5: Money |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Because it's fun | 0.76 | <0.3 | <0.3 | <0.3 | <0.3 |
| Because it's exciting | 0.75 | <0.3 | <0.3 | <0.3 | <0.3 |
| Because of the sense of achievement when I win | 0.65 | <0.3 | 0.32 | <0.3 | <0.3 |
| As a hobby or pastime | 0.52 | 0.58 | <0.3 | <0.3 | <0.3 |
| For the mental challenge or to learn about the game or activity | 0.50 | 0.35 | 0.48 | <0.3 | <0.3 |
| To relax | 0.35 | 0.70 | <0.3 | <0.3 | <0.3 |
| To escape boredom or to fill my time | <0.3 | 0.77 | <0.3 | <0.3 | <0.3 |
| Because it helps when I'm feeling tense | <0.3 | 0.74 | <0.3 | <0.3 | <0.3 |
| To compete with others (for example bookmaker, other gamblers) | <0.3 | <0.3 | 0.72 | <0.3 | <0.3 |
| To impress other people | <0.3 | <0.3 | 0.66 | 0.35 | <0.3 |
| Because I'm worried about not winning if I don't play | <0.3 | <0.3 | 0.53 | <0.3 | 0.42 |
| To be sociable | <0.3 | <0.3 | <0.3 | 0.81 | <0.3 |
| Because it's something that I do with my friends or family | <0.3 | <0.3 | <0.3 | 0.79 | <0.3 |
| For the chance of winning big money | <0.3 | <0.3 | <0.3 | <0.3 | 0.83 |
| To make money | <0.3 | <0.3 | <0.3 | <0.3 | 0.80 |
Notes on table
Base: productive individuals who gambled in the past 12 months and provided a response to the reason for gambling statement.
The table shows loadings for principal component analysis with varimax factor rotation. Loadings can range between -1 and 1 and indicate how strongly each question loads onto each component.
The loadings show us how the responses given by GSGB participants to the RGQ naturally group together into 5 themes that describe the reasons people give for gambling.
Two of the themes – gambling for social reasons (component 4) and gambling for monetary gain (component 5) – are straightforward to interpret. Social reasons include gambling to be sociable or because it is something the participant does with their friends and family. Monetary reasons include gambling, at least sometimes, for the chance of winning big money and gambling to make money.
The remaining 3 themes, as in 2010, needed further examination and are discussed below:
Component 1 is dominated by reasons relating to fun and excitement. These 2 questions had the highest factor loadings. Gambling because it gives a sense of achievement is also important. The theme also includes gambling as a hobby or pastime and gambling for the mental challenge. Both Wardle et al and Stewart and Zack identified a subscale in the RGQ that they named ‘enhancement’ that was defined as ‘internal, positive reinforcement’ as it was seen as gambling for fun, excitement, and to increase positive emotions. Component 1 is comparable to this theme has therefore been named ‘enhancement’ for consistency.
Component 2 has the highest loadings for three questions relating to filling in time: alleviating boredom, relieving tension, and relaxing. This has close similarities to the ‘coping’ motives identified by Stewart and Zack, which they defined as being related to ‘internal, negative reinforcement’ (that is, gambling to reduce or avoid negative emotions). Boredom and being tense can both be viewed as negative emotions. This theme also includes gambling as a hobby or pastime and includes a weak loading for gambling as a mental challenge, although it should be noted that gambling as a mental challenge has stronger associations with other components and makes only a minor contribution here. As this component has strong parallels with the coping motives identified in the literature, and centres on escapism it has been named ‘coping or escapism’.
Component 3 is defined by reasons relating to gambling as a challenge or competition, namely, to compete with others, impress others, and the mental challenge. This theme also includes concerns about missing out. This component has been named ‘challenge’ as a result.
These 5 factors are broadly consistent with BGPS 2010. The social and money components are equivalent in both surveys and the enhancement component is broadly similar. The remaining 2 have some key differences:
- the BGPS contained a theme called ‘coping’. This included the RGQ item related to impressing others. The coping/escapism theme identified in the GSGB does not include this item but is otherwise similar
- the BGPS analysis included a theme called ‘recreation’. This theme included motives related to filling time, hobbies and pastimes, fun, and relaxation. This theme is not replicated strongly in this analysis. Instead, this analysis has identified a theme that is more strongly related to competition and impressing others, which has been named ‘challenge’ to reflect the difference.
References
15 principal components were identified; 4 were retained because they had eigenvalues greater than 1, a fifth, concerning reasons related to money, was also retained due to its conceptual usefulness. The 5 factors explained 66 percent of the variance in the responses given to the RGQ, similar to that in 2010 BGPS.
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Reasons for gambling - Reasons and activities
Last updated: 30 January 2025
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