Gendered spheres of gambling in Sweden Jessika Svensson, Phd student, Mid Sweden University and Swedish National Institute of Public Health
Contents Analyzing the regular gamblers in Sweden from a gender perspective Examine concepts of luck, strategy (skill), domestic and public in order to question the stereotype images of female and male gamblers Look at gambling properties as gambling alone or for social reasons, forgetting the everyday life, excitement, feeling guilty for gambling and if and how these properties relate to gender
Gender and gambling Sex seems to be the variable that have the highest impact on gambling behaviour and problem gambling Women and men seem to choose different gambling forms and arenas Few studies with a gender perspective
Gender perspective Gender as a social construct and process The genders are categorized, dichotomized driven by the logic of separation and polarization Women and femininity are subordinate men and masculinity Gender interact with other stratification systems such as social class, ethnicity, sexuality et cetera
Image of male gamblers
Images of female gamblers
Gambling in Sweden 60 56 53 40 32 20 24 28 27 9 20 17 13 4 3 12 7 8 9 3 13 4 4 0 Lottery Lotto Sports Horses Poker C asino games Men Women Vegas (machines) TV-shows Bingo Internet
Problem gambling 12% 9% 6% 3% 0% Horses TV-shows Casino games Bingo Lottery Sports Vegas (machines) Lotto Poker Only one gambling form More than one gambling form
Sample and collection of data Original sample 15 000 individuals, aged 16-74 Around 7500 responded (the weighted sample represents close to 60 percent response rate) Data collection Telephone interviews from October 2008 until April 2009 My sample frequent gamblers; gambled at least 6 times/year 3191 individuals (35,8% women 64,2 % men) unweighted
SAMPLE Regular gamblers men, Swedish born, unemployment benefit, 44-64 years old and individuals living with a partner and children* Gambling problems -No difference in gambling problems between men and women: 7,9 percent of the women and 7,5 percent of the men had gambling problems Younger individuals, singles, born outside Sweden, dependence on social assistance and a low level of education have an increased risk of gambling problems * * The regression model controls for age, education, country of birth, family situation, unemployment benefit, social assistance, gambling frequency.
Gambling domains - codings Horses at racetrack, horses through agent, sport private betting, poker at casinos, poker at clubs, poker private, poker abroad Horses online, sport through agent, sport online, poker online Bingo hall, Car bingo, gambling machine at pubs/casinos/bingo halls/ at ships, Harry Boy through agent, lottery, casino gambling at casinos/pubs/ships Harry boy online, bingo online, lottery online, lotto, lottery, casino online, gambling machine online STRATEGY - PUBLIC STRATEGY - DOMESTIC LUCK - PUBLIC LUCK - DOMESTIC
Gambling domains 100 Strategy_public 20% Strategy_domestic 15% 80 60 Luck_public 18% Luck_domestic 47% 40 20 0 S-D L-D L-P S-P Women Men
Men and women in the gambling domains 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 Skill/dom Luck/dom Luck/pub Skill_pub Women Men
Properties of gambling Percent of women Percent of men I gamble because it is exciting 78 81 Gambling is one of the most exciting activities I know 58 69 I prefer gambling alone 44 51 Gambling makes me forget everything else for a while 28 37 I see myself as a gambler 18 34 Consuming alcohol while gambling 13 32 My gambling give me friends 11 20 Feeling guilty about their gambling 7 5
STRATEGY - DOMESTIC Both women and men says their gambling give them friends A higher proportion of the men prefer gambling alone Both men and women drink more while gambling, view themselves as gamblers, forget everyday while gambling Both men and women gamble for the excitement and think that gambling is one of the most exciting activities This domain is most related to feelings of guilt for women
LUCK - DOMESTIC Less individuals think that their gambling give them friends Men in this group prefer to a higher degree to gamble alone and are less likely to forget everything else while gambling, do not gamble for the excitement or think gambling is one of the most exciting things Less men in this group view themselves as gamblers and gamble less frequent Both men and women drink significant less alcohol while gambling Not associated with feelings of guilt
LUCK-PUBLIC Men do not think gambling is one of the most exciting activities, but women do! Both men and women in this domain are more likely to forget things around them while gambling, think gambling give them friends, drink more and view themselves as gamblers Prefer to gamble alone
STRATEGY-PUBLIC gambling give them friends, gamble for excitement and view gambling as one of the most exciting activities Forget the world around while gambling View themselves as gamblers No relation to prefer gambling alone Drink more alcohol while gambling Both men and women have felt guilt for gambling at a higher degree
Key findings The gambling scene is highly gendered Feeling (except guilt) about gambling are not so gendered Games of strategy and gambling outside the home seem very social for women People, and especially men, who gamble on games of luck at home do to a less degree forget the world surrounding them Women as likely as men to have gambling problems even that they are less frequent gamblers and gamble in less harmful domains implications?