Table 1.
Sample demographics and study variable descriptive statistics
| Variable | Pre-COVID baseline | COVID-lockdown | Change | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Demographics | ||||
| Age (years) | ||||
| Between 18 and 24 | 1.70 | |||
| Between 25 and 34 | 8.50 | |||
| Between 35 and 44 | 12.70 | |||
| Between 45 and 54 | 19.50 | |||
| Between 55 and 64 | 29.00 | |||
| Between 65 and 74 | 22.80 | |||
| 75 or older | 5.80 | |||
| Sex | ||||
| Male | 50.70 | |||
| Female | 49.20 | |||
| Other | 0.10 | |||
| Education | ||||
| Primary level | 1.40 | |||
| Some secondary | 3.70 | |||
| Completion of secondary | 17.70 | |||
| Some vocational training | 2.50 | |||
| Completion of vocational training | 9.80 | |||
| Some post-secondary | 13.20 | |||
| Post-secondary certificate, diploma, or degree (below a bachelor’s degree) | 19.90 | |||
| Bachelor’s degree or equivalent | 21.30 | |||
| Professional degree (e.g., law, medicine) requiring education beyond standard bachelor’s degree | 2.60 | |||
| Master’s or doctorate degree | 6.70 | |||
| Prefer not to say | 1.20 | |||
| Marital status | ||||
| Single | 19.70 | 19.72 | ||
| Married or living in a common-law | 63.30 | 63.08 | ||
| Separated, but still legally married | 2.40 | 2.80 | ||
| Divorced | 8.80 | 8.29 | ||
| Widowed | 5.00 | 5.27 | ||
| Prefer not to say | 0.80 | 0.85 | ||
| Employment | ||||
| Employed full-time | 41.00 | |||
| Employed part-time | 10.80 | |||
| Sick leave, maternity leave, on strike, on disability | 2.80 | |||
| Homemaker and not working for money | 3.20 | |||
| Unemployed | 3.10 | |||
| Full-time student and not working for money | 0.40 | |||
| Retired and not working for money | 37.30 | |||
| Prefer not to say | 1.30 | |||
| COVID related employment impacts (n = 1720) | ||||
| Permanent job loss | 2.30 | |||
| Temporary job loss | 18.60 | |||
| Maintained job with reduced hours or pay | 15.60 | |||
| No change in employment status | 63.40 | |||
| Working remotely (n = 1360) | ||||
| No | 44.00 | |||
| Partially | 15.10 | |||
| Yes | 41.00 | |||
| Household income | ||||
| Less than $20,000 | 5.50 | 5.67 | ||
| $20,000–$39,000 | 13.90 | 14.64 | ||
| $40,000–$59,000 | 17.50 | 17.02 | ||
| $60,000–$79,000 | 15.60 | 15.40 | ||
| $80,000–$99,000 | 13.70 | 13.28 | ||
| $100,000–$119,000 | 9.20 | 8.82 | ||
| $120,000–$139,000 | 5.30 | 5.59 | ||
| > $140,000 | 8.80 | 8.52 | ||
| Uncertain | 0.60 | 0.74 | ||
| Prefer not to say | 9.80 | 10.33 | ||
| Household debt | ||||
| No debt | 34.20 | 37.70 | ||
| Less than $39,000 | 23.30 | 25.60 | ||
| $40,000–$79,000 | 8.40 | 9.50 | ||
| $80,000–$119,000 | 5.80 | 5.90 | ||
| $120,000–$159,000 | 4.60 | 5.20 | ||
| $160,000–$199,000 | 3.90 | 3.90 | ||
| $200,000–$239,000 | 3.00 | 3.70 | ||
| $240,000–$299,000 | 3.00 | 3.60 | ||
| > $300,000 | 4.20 | 5.00 | ||
| Uncertain | 2.60 | 0.00 | ||
| Prefer not to say | 7.00 | 0.00 | ||
| Personality | ||||
| Impulsivity | 14.04 (4.90) | |||
| Gambling | ||||
| Time (h) | 22.53 (58.16) | 8.29 (34.73) | t(3371) = − 14.53* | |
| Types (0–7) | 2.38 (1.37) | 1.19 (1.30) | t(3371) = − 54.56* | |
| Frequency | 6.07 (4.58) | 5.72 (4.64) | t(3448) = − 29.62* | |
| Total loss ($) | − 313.55 (798.31) | − 84.63 (313.09) | t(3371) = − 20.22* | |
| Gambling fallacy measure | 6.80 (1.61) | 7.70 (1.78) | ||
| Platform | ||||
| Land-based | 80.70 | 44.00 | ||
| Online | 17.00 | 25.90 | ||
| PGSI total score | 1.49 (3.63) | 1.41 (3.58) | t(2393) = − 5.94* | |
| PGSI categories | ||||
| Non-gambler | 2.10 | 30.00 | ||
| Non-problem gambler | 71.80 | 50.70 | ||
| Low risk gambler | 14.20 | 12.10 | ||
| Moderate risk gambler | 3.70 | 2.60 | ||
| Problem gambler | 8.10 | 4.60 | ||
Unless otherwise indicated, N = 3449. Percentages presented for all categorical variables, means with standard deviations in parentheses are presented for continuous variables. Data presented for baseline but not presented for COVID-Lockdown were collected at baseline but not during COVID-lockdown. Change = paired t-Tests for gambling engagement and PGSI total scores. Platform percentages do not sum to 100 due to non-gamblers; percentages of non-gamblers are not included in PGSI Categories to reduce redundancies. PGSI = Problem Gambling Severity Index. * = p < .001