Sports Betting: Can Gamblers Beat Randomness?

Although skills are not considered relevant in chance-governed activities, only a few studies have assessed the extent to which sport expert skills in wagering are a manifestation of the illusion of control. This study examined (a) whether expert hockey bettors could make better predictions than chance, (b) whether expert hockey bettors could achieve greater monetary gains than chance, and (c) what kind of strategies hockey gamblers rely on when betting. Accordingly, 30 participants were asked to report their state lottery hockey bets on 6 occasions. We suggest that the information used by bettors, along with near-misses, reinforces their perception of expertise. The results of this experiment suggest that the so-called "skills" of the sports bettors are cognitive distortions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Links between casino proximity and gambling participation, expenditure, and pathology.

Two studies investigated the relationship between casino proximity and gambling participation, expenditure, and pathology. In Study 1, 8,842 participants were categorized into 1 of 4 driving distances from their home to the nearest casino in the province of Quebec: 0-100 km, 100.01-200 km, 200.01-300 km, or 300.01-981 km. In Study 2, 5,158 participants, who lived within a 100-km driving distance from the Montreal casino, were classified into 1 of 5 equidistant, 20-km driving distances. A survey company interviewed participants regarding their gambling habits. Results indicated a positive link between casino proximity and gambling participation (at the provincial and Montreal levels) and expenditure (at the provincial level only) but no link with the current prevalence rate of probable pathological gambling or of problem gambling. In a setting in which many types of gambling activities are available, casino proximity in itself does not appear to explain the rate of gambling-related problems. It is necessary to continue prospective research on exposure and adaptation theories as potential explanations for the development of pathological gambling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Structure factorielle et fidélité du questionnaire d’excès aux loteries vidéo.

Pathological gambling carries high economic and social cost. It is therefore important to develop questionnaires for the early screening of gamblers at risk of developing pathological gambling. This study analyses the factorial structure (exploratory factor analysis) of the questionnaire d`excès aux loteries video (QELVI, video lotteries excess scale). A sample of 290 video lottery gamblers completed the QELVI (20 items). The QELVI’s convergent validity with the obsessive passion subscale of Rousseau, Vallerand, Ratelle, Mageau, and Provencher (2002) and its temporal stability (1 month) was examined. The QELVI has a unifactorial structure that explains 71% of common variance, an excellent internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = .97) and temporal stability (Intraclass correlation = .92). Pathological gamblers’ mean QELVI score is higher than that of at-risk gamblers and the mean score of at-risk gamblers is higher than that of nonproblem gamblers. The questionnaire’s psychometric properties are discussed along with suggestions for future development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)