Examining antecedents and consequences of gambling passion: the case of gambling on horse races.
OBJECTIVE
This study investigated the antecedents and consequences of gambling passion using structural equation modeling to examine relationships among gambling motivation, passion, emotion, and behavioral intentions in the horse racing industry.


METHODS
An onsite survey was conducted with 447 patrons at a horseracing park in South Korea. A confirmatory factor analysis showed that the Gambling Passion Scale was valid and reliable, resulting in two sub-scales: obsessive passion (OP) and harmonious passion (HP).


RESULTS
Study results indicated that extrinsic motivation influenced OP whereas intrinsic motivation significantly affected HP. Furthermore, OP was correlated with negative emotion, whereas HP was related to positive emotion. Gamblers' satisfaction was found to be influenced positively by positive emotion and negatively by negative emotion. Finally, satisfaction appeared to affect gamblers' behavioral intentions.


CONCLUSIONS
Study results echoed the notion of distinct and separate gambling motivations and passions among horse racing gamblers. Furthermore, results identified specific areas to which horse racing operators or policy makers should pay special attention in developing effective marketing strategies to promote responsible gambling.
College of Hotel & Tourism, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Choong-Ki
CK
Lee
Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management, University of Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
Ki-Joon
KJ
Back
Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
David C
DC
Hodgins
Department of Addiction Psychiatry, Seoul National Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Tae Kyung
TK
Lee
Behavioral intentions; Emotion; Gambling passion; Horse racing gambling; Motivation; Satisfaction