Bettors in research studies say they bet because it makes a game more exciting and lets them use what they know, and the body’s stress response to gambling is measurably different in problem gamblers. In a lab study, recreational gamblers’ cortisol rose after watching gambling, while pathological gamblers’ did not.
This guide sets out what two published studies actually found, what they did not test, and what a bettor can take from them. If betting has stopped being fun, the National Problem Gambling Helpline is 1-800-MY-RESET, by call or text.
Why sports bettors say they bet
A qualitative study published by Springer in 2020 interviewed 19 people in the UK who had placed an in-play sports bet online in the previous six months. They were 21 to 32 years old, 17 of them men. By the Problem Gambling Severity Index, four were no-risk gamblers, seven low risk, seven moderate risk and one a problem gambler.
The researchers grouped the reasons for betting in-play into three themes:
- Excitement: “It increases excitement of that game and your attention and enjoyment,” one participant said.
- Intensity: betting makes the game itself more intense to watch.
- Skill: it lets bettors use their knowledge of the sport.
Every participant placed bets mainly on a smartphone. The authors concluded that in-play betting can be played without interruption and “may lead to repetitive (i.e., continuous) gambling and/or unwarranted feelings of control.” With 19 people, it is a study of reasons, not a measure of how common they are.
What happens in the body
The cortisol study, titled “Gambling Pathology is Associated with Dampened Cortisol Response Among Men and Women”, compared recreational and pathological gamblers, 15 men and 6 women in each group. Each person gave a saliva sample at baseline, after videos of casino gambling and after a roller-coaster video.
Recreational gamblers had significantly more cortisol, the stress hormone, after the gambling and roller-coaster videos than at baseline. The pathological gamblers did not. The authors compare that dampened response with what is seen in drug addiction, where the same hormone system responds abnormally.
That is a finding about casino gambling cues in a small group, measured in a lab. It did not test sports betting, and it does not show that betting causes the difference.
What a bettor can take from it
Taken together, the two studies support two points. Betting on a game changes how you watch it, and people who have lost control of their gambling respond to it differently from people who have not. Neither study says how much betting is too much.
The practical checks are simple:
- Set a stake size before you bet, and keep it. Our guide to what a unit is in betting shows one way to size bets against a bankroll.
- Notice in-play betting. The authors of the 2020 study point out that it can be played without interruption, one bet straight after another.
- Know why you cash out. Participants in the same study cashed out to cut losses on bets that were losing, and to free money for more bets. A hedge or a cash-out locks in a result, but it is still a decision made mid-game with money on the line.
If betting has become something you cannot skip, the National Council on Problem Gambling runs the National Problem Gambling Helpline at 1-800-MY-RESET (1-800-697-3738), by call, text or online chat. For the rest of our guides, see the expert betting guide index.