Toward an explanation of betting as a leisure pursuit
Toward an explanation of betting as a leisure pursuit
This paper uses an analysis of betting decisions to explore the motivations underlying offcourse horserace betting — a leisure activity which accounted for a turnover of £4.3 billion in the UK in 1989/90. Specifically, four possible motivations are considered: financial gain, intellectual challenge, social interaction and excitement. A testable proposition is developed, linking each motivation to a particular time period in which the bet is placed and as to whether the bet is placed at starting price. Hence, four distinct subsets of the aggregate betting population are defined. The proposition is tested by examining betting behaviour in each subset according to three bet characteristics — financial return, average stake and degree of risk taken, where the value of each characteristic is held to be indicative of an underlying motivation. The results indicate significant support for the proposition that individuals vary in their motivation to bet which is reflected in the nature and timing of their betting activity.
201-218
Bruce, A.C.
6d9f1a51-38a8-4011-a792-bfc82040fac4
Johnson, J.E.V.
1ac804ad-0402-4c8f-8d96-065dffb67a46
1992
Bruce, A.C.
6d9f1a51-38a8-4011-a792-bfc82040fac4
Johnson, J.E.V.
1ac804ad-0402-4c8f-8d96-065dffb67a46
Bruce, A.C. and Johnson, J.E.V.
(1992)
Toward an explanation of betting as a leisure pursuit.
Leisure Studies, 11 (3), .
(doi:10.1080/02614369200390091).
Abstract
This paper uses an analysis of betting decisions to explore the motivations underlying offcourse horserace betting — a leisure activity which accounted for a turnover of £4.3 billion in the UK in 1989/90. Specifically, four possible motivations are considered: financial gain, intellectual challenge, social interaction and excitement. A testable proposition is developed, linking each motivation to a particular time period in which the bet is placed and as to whether the bet is placed at starting price. Hence, four distinct subsets of the aggregate betting population are defined. The proposition is tested by examining betting behaviour in each subset according to three bet characteristics — financial return, average stake and degree of risk taken, where the value of each characteristic is held to be indicative of an underlying motivation. The results indicate significant support for the proposition that individuals vary in their motivation to bet which is reflected in the nature and timing of their betting activity.
This record has no associated files available for download.
More information
Published date: 1992
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 35773
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/35773
ISSN: 0261-4367
PURE UUID: 13d46c1e-d43c-4321-b1de-2da8190d2086
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 01 Aug 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 07:54
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
A.C. Bruce
Author:
J.E.V. Johnson
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics