Women involved with gambling face different risks and pressures than their male counterparts, so we aim to foster greater understanding about how these pressures impact them, making it easier for them to seek assistance when necessary.
Our participants have reported how gambling can lead them into feelings of despair, leading them to take on family debt or gamble alone.
Online Casinos
Over the last several decades, iGaming has experienced dramatic transformation. One notable development is how women are becoming an increasing presence at online casinos due to easy mobile device access and evolving advertising strategies.
This qualitative study interviewed 19 treatment-seeking and 20 non-treatment-seeking online gamblers in Australia. Both groups reported changes in online gambling over the last decade having an effect on their gambling; treatment-seekers identified industrialisation of gambling as contributing to impulsive betting and other harmful behaviours while non-treatment-seekers reported limited detrimental effects.
Generalisability was limited by small sample sizes and recall and social desirability biases that may have affected results, yet using two separate interview samples allowed an exploration of differences between treatment-seekers and non-treatment-seekers and impact of industry changes on their gambling. For future research purposes it would be beneficial to explore wider themes, perspectives and experiences among participants.
Sports Betting
Rat Pack-era casino glamour may still exist, but women have become an increasingly significant customer base within this industry. Online casinos frequently promote gender neutral imagery while games often feature female characters; brick and mortar casinos may even provide gender specific gaming tables and encourage women to share their wins and scores via social media to expand brand recognition.
iGaming brands are taking advantage of the rising interest in sports betting by integrating it with existing casino platforms, but must ensure that they promote responsible gambling practices and offer mechanisms to limit patterns of continuous online sports betting. A recent study interviewed both non-treatment-seeking and treatment-seeking gamblers regarding changes to online gambling over the past decade; both groups reported increased betting; treatment-seekers noted fast financial transactions as contributing to impulsive and loss-chasing behaviors, suggesting 24/7 betting opportunities as part of disordered gambling patterns.
Mobile Gaming
Women’s participation and perceptions of harm from gambling vary with age and risk status. To examine this fact, a qualitative online panel survey was used for this research study that queried women about their frequency of gambling sessions as well as product preferences and perceptions of product harm.
This study explored four forms of gambling in Australia-casino gambling, electronic gaming machines (EGMs), horse betting and sports betting. To segment a priori by age and gambling risk status. Data was analysed through Braun and Clarke’s six phases of reflexive thematic analysis with coded responses aligned to research questions that guided this project.
Data revealed that many women used gambling as an escape from daily life and way to connect with social network members. Furthermore, gambling became part of incidental leisure activities for many as well as employed ‘personal responsibility’ rationalisations to minimize risk behaviors like including it into household budgets or using practical reasoning to justify risk taking behaviours.
Responsible Gambling
A study involving women from two Australian states conducted by researchers involved reflexive thematic analysis to interpret qualitative data. Participants were asked about their favourite gambling products and provided with reasons for why. Frequency of participation, perceptions of product harms and any possible causal mechanisms were all explored as well as reflexive thematic analysis for qualitative interpretation.
Results indicated that most women were engaged in gambling at some point during the period surveyed, with EGMs being their preferred product due to their ease of access and socially acceptable nature. Younger women seemed more willing to engage in casino products as part of a night out with friends or simply for fun.
These findings indicate that women may possess more complex understandings and reasoning regarding gambling risks than is currently recognized, which must be taken into consideration when designing public health and gambling promotion programs.