Gamblers' motivations: Developing a Reasons for Gambling Scale (RGS)

To understand gamblers' behaviour, scholars have focused on the motivations that promote and maintain such behaviour. However, measures for addressing this construct that are valid for every form of game, place of consumption and type of gambler, are lacking. This study aimed to fill this gap. Combining qualitative and quantitative techniques, a new scale (Reasons for Gambling Scale) was developed. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses identified four main categories of motives that influence gamblers' behaviour: sensation seeking, relaxation and socialisation, winning, and social recognition. The last emerges as a new category of motives compared to the existing literature. The applicability of the scale in the context of gamblers' behaviour was demonstrated through a multinomial logistic regression model. Results show that motives, as well as gender, age and education, are important predictors of purchase preferences. Implications for both the marketing and demarketing of gambling as well as future research directions are provided.