Hitting the Jackpot: The Influence of Monetary Payout on Gambling Lena C. Quilty, Ph.D., C.Psych. Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Department of Psychiatry University of Toronto
Co-authors Daniela Lobo Martin Zack Centre for Addiction & Mental Health; University of Toronto Alexander Blaszczynski Courtney Crewe-Brown University of Sydney
Disclosure of Potential Conflict of Interest The current work was supported by operating funds from Gambling Research Exchange Ontario In the past 5 years, I have received funding from: National Institutes of Health Canadian Institutes of Health Research American Psychiatric Association Ontario Mental Health Foundation Canadian Consortium for Gambling Research Gambling Research Exchange Ontario Ontario Lottery & Gaming
Background Theoretical models emphasize reinforcement in development & maintenance of problem gambling, e.g. Behavioural models Decision-making theory Cognitive neuroscience research has linked magnitude of monetary outcomes to distinct neural events Neural responses to monetary outcomes are the result of outcome valence and magnitude (Goyer et al., 2008; Kreussel et al., 2012; Wu & Zhou, 2009) Valence and magnitude governed by distinct neural mechanisms (Gu et al., 2011)
Background Monetary payout is the primary motivation for recreational and problem gambling Maximum jackpot size as form of prevention? Promote view of gambling as form of entertainment rather than source of income?
Background Crewe-Brown, Blaszczynski, & Russell (2013) 171 undergraduate students Asked to estimate gambling expenditure, frequency, & duration to win jackpots of increasing amounts Endorsed increased gambling with increased jackpots Gambling debt and gender moderated link: Males and females endorsed similar bets under conditions of no debt and low jackpot sizes Males tended to endorse higher bets than females when debt levels were high
Background Crewe-Brown, Blaszczynski, & Russell (2013)
Objectives Replication and extension of Crewe-Brown et al. 1) To investigate link between self-reported wagering and jackpot size in adults with wide range of gambling frequency and associated harms 2) To investigate moderating role of gender, gambling debt, and other risk factors for problem gambling
Methods Participants: 187 adults 101 males, 85 females, 1 other, 1 did not disclose Average age 37.10 years (SD=13.88) Range 18 to 68 years Average gambling frequency 9.3 x/month Ranged 0 to 60 x/month Approximately 50% (n=93) PGSI 8
Methods Participants:
Methods Participants:
Methods Participants:
Methods Participants:
Methods Advertisements: Contacts (N=195) 65% Completed Survey (N=127) Hospital Research Registry: Contacts (N=95) 42% Completed Survey (N=40)
Methods Measures: Vignettes (Crewe-Brown et al., 2013): Self-reported willingness to wager for a series of hypothetical jackpots of increasing amounts Please indicate how much you would be willing to bet on an electronic gaming machine for the chance to win a prize of $500 EGM expenditure & duration high frequency, more probable, smaller jackpot Lottery expenditure & # games played low frequency, less probable, larger jackpot
Methods Measures: Vignettes (Crewe-Brown et al., 2013): Ten jackpot sizes EGM jackpots ranged from $100 to $200,000+ Lottery jackpots ranged from $100 to $10,000,000 3 levels of gambling debt Low, medium, and high
Methods Measures: Problem Gambling Severity Index (Ferris & Wynne, 2001) Gambling Motives Questionnaire (Stewart & Zack, 2008) Enhancement, coping, & social motives UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale-P (Lynam et al., 2007) Negative and positive urgency; (Lack of) premeditation and perseverance; Sensation seeking, Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson & Clark, 1988)
Results F=54.16, p<.01, partial η 2 =.24
Results F=72.30, p<.01, partial η 2 =.29
Results F=26.39, p<.01, partial η 2 =.14
Results F=55.71, p<.01, partial η 2 =.25
Results Self-reported gambling increased as a function of magnitude of reinforcement Money wagered increased with jackpot size Duration of EGM play increased with jackpot size Number of lottery games played increased with jackpot size Effect sizes large Results consistent even when taking problem gambling severity as assessed by the PGSI into account (all ps <.05)
Results F=3.98, p<.01, partial η 2 =.03
Results F=5.71, p<.01, partial η 2 =.03
Results F=3.57, p=.03, partial η 2 =.03
Results F=2.95, p<.01, partial η 2 =.02
Results Self-reported gambling increased as a function of magnitude of reinforcement and decreased as a function of magnitude of debt Main effects across all outcomes, w/ large effect sizes Jackpot debt size interaction for money wagered (EGM & lottery) and lottery games played Impact of debt most pronounced at high jackpot sizes Jackpot gender interaction for duration of EGM play Females endorsed longer durations at high jackpot sizes Small effect size
Results Self-reported gambling association with jackpot size not moderated by: Gambling motivations Impulsivity Affect EGM expenditures increased with coping motives (F=5.97, p=.02) and positive urgency (F=5.16, p=.02) Lottery expenditures and games increased with social motives (F=6.11, p=.01; F=4.53, p=.04) Results replicated with and without covariates
Conclusions Jackpot size may significantly impact gambling across qualitatively different gambling products, and across gamblers with different risk factors Increased gambling in response to increased jackpots Across games with different probability of winning and nature of game play Debt moderated these outcomes: gambling decreased with increased debt, particularly at elevated prize levels
Conclusions Online self-report design Replication of earlier research Recruitment of large N in efficient, economical design Established delay-discounting tasks similar (Madden & Bickel, 2010) Self-report comparable to behavior (Odum, 2011) Possible influence of expectations or task demands Somatic marker hypothesis: vulnerability factors may only moderate if somatic signal for risk or reward i.e., an in vivo manipulation; see Bechara et al., 2000
Implications Robust association between gambling frequency, duration, and expenditures and gambling-related harms Accruing evidence for association between gambling outcomes and jackpot size Gambling expenditures, duration, and frequency endorsed above suggested cut-offs for harmful or problem gambling (e.g., Quilty et al., 2014) Restriction of jackpots may be viable form of prevention
Acknowledgements CAMH Research Services & Quilty Clinical Research Lab: Susan Dickens Natalia Potapova Suzie Woldemariame Gloria Leo Daniela Avila Murati Heba Shamsi Rebecca Persaud Premika Premachandiran
Extra Slides
Results Median Reported Bet Size ($) 120 100 80 60 40 20 None Low Medium High Distribution of median bet size on EGM by prize level and debt size 0 100 500 1000 5000 10,000 25,000 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000+ Prize Level ($)
Results Median Response 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 None Low Medium High Median amount of time spent in play by prize level and debt size 0 100 500 1000 5000 10,000 25,000 50,000 100,000 150,000 200,000+ Prize Level ($)
Results Median Expenditure ($) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 None Low Medium High Distribution of median expenditure on lottery tickets by size of jackpot and debt 100 500 1000 5000 10,000 50,000 100,000 500,000 1 million 10 million + Size of jackpot ($)
Results Median number of tickets purchased by size of jackpot and debt size Median Response 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 None Low Medium High 100 500 1000 5000 10,000 50,000 100,000 500,000 1 million 10 million + Size of jackpot ($)