Table 2.
Odds ratios for PGSI high-risk gambling and associated factors among online players (N = 1081)
| Key factors | High-risk gambler (n = 138) | Non-high-risk gambler (n = 943) | OR | 95% CI | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | % | n | % | |||
| Gendera | ||||||
| Male | 91 | 65.9 | 507 | 53.8 | 1.67** | 1.15–2.42 |
| Female | 44 | 31.9 | 433 | 45.9 | 0.55 | 0.38–0.81 |
| Age (years) | ||||||
| 18–24 | 21 | 15.2 | 117 | 12.4 | 1.27 | 0.77–2.10 |
| 25–44 | 86 | 62.3 | 306 | 32.4 | 3.44*** | 2.38–4.99 |
| 45–64 | 25 | 18.1 | 330 | 35.0 | 0.41*** | 0.26–0.65 |
| 65+ | 6 | 4.3 | 190 | 20.1 | 0.18*** | 0.08–0.42 |
| GAD-7 | ||||||
| No anxiety | 9 | 6.5 | 428 | 45.4 | 0.08*** | 0.04–0.17 |
| Mild anxiety | 41 | 29.7 | 294 | 31.2 | 0.93 | 0.63–1.38 |
| Moderate anxiety | 55 | 39.9 | 138 | 14.6 | 3.87*** | 2.63–5.69 |
| Severe anxiety | 33 | 23.9 | 83 | 8.8 | 3.26*** | 2.07–5.11 |
| PHQ-9 | ||||||
| No depression | 11 | 8.0 | 424 | 45.0 | 0.11*** | 0.06–0.20 |
| Mild depression | 25 | 18.1 | 296 | 31.4 | 0.48*** | 0.31–0.76 |
| Moderate depression | 42 | 30.4 | 116 | 12.3 | 3.12*** | 2.07–4.71 |
| Moderately severe depression | 38 | 27.5 | 72 | 7.6 | 4.60*** | 2.95–7.17 |
| Severe depression | 22 | 15.9 | 35 | 3.7 | 4.92*** | 2.79–8.68 |
| COVID-19 impact | ||||||
| Lost employment | 35 | 25.4 | 152 | 16.1 | 1.77** | 1.16–2.69 |
| Reduced work hours | 22 | 15.9 | 68 | 7.2 | 2.44*** | 1.45–4.10 |
| Household income negative effect | 80 | 58.0 | 484 | 51.3 | 1.31 | 0.91–1.88 |
| Emergency measures influence online gambling decision | 70 | 50.7 | 276 | 29.3 | 2.49*** | 1.73–3.57 |
| Substance use | ||||||
| Alcohol use | 88 | 63.8 | 652 | 69.1 | 0.79 | 0.54–1.14 |
| Cannabis use | 46 | 33.3 | 147 | 15.6 | 2.71*** | 1.82–4.02 |
| Increased alcohol use | 52 | 59.1 | 268 | 41.1 | 2.07*** | 1.32–3.26 |
| Increased cannabis use | 25 | 54.3 | 74 | 50.3 | 1.17 | 0.60–2.28 |
| Gambling under the influence of alcoholb | 53 | 44.9 | 72 | 8.5 | 8.81*** | 5.70–13.62 |
| Gambling under the influence of cannabisb | 21 | 17.8 | 19 | 2.2 | 9.47*** | 4.92–18.23 |
| Gambling motives | ||||||
| Because it helps when feeling nervous or depressed | 46 | 33.3 | 22 | 2.3 | 20.93*** | 12.06–36.33 |
| To win back money I lost gambling | 58 | 42.0 | 31 | 3.3 | 21.33*** | 13.04–34.90 |
| To earn income | 56 | 40.6 | 62 | 6.6 | 9.70*** | 6.34–14.86 |
The n/% values are all in reference to the totals for high-risk gambler and non-high-risk gambler
OR odds ratio (for high-risk gambler), CI confidence interval, PGSI Problem Gambling Severity Index, GAD-7 General Anxiety Disorder questionnaire, PHQ-9 Patient Health Questionnaire
*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.001
aThree individuals self-identified as transgender, four opted not to report gender and three reported “other” (two non-binary and one as none). Males and females represented 99.5% of the total sample (n = 2005). Non-m/f gender responses were excluded from analysis
bSample total differ for those who gamble online under the influence of substances (n = 968) as they must first confirm online gambling and general substance use as pre-conditions