How did regular sports bettors behave during covid-19 lockdown? Evidence from Poland

ABSTRACT

Research question

The coronavirus pandemic (covid-19) has significantly altered everyday life in numerous aspects. One of them is sports betting and the uncertainty regarding the effects of lockdown on bettors’ behaviour. This paper explores four key questions about sports bettors during covid-19: (1) have they ceased their sports betting? (2) Have they substituted betting for other online gambling activities (or esports)? (3) Have they saved more time or money?, and (4) How do they feel about their betting?

Research methods

The study reports findings from an online survey. Data was collected during the pandemic outbreak and before any major sport competition resumed its activity (5–7 May 2020). The survey was conducted in Poland. A purposive sampling method was used to reach regular sport bettors – where ‘regular’ means those who had bet at least once a month before covid-19. In total, 240 regular sports bettors completed the questionnaire in full. A binominal logistic regression model was used to analyse the behavioural changes of bettors during the pandemic.

Results and findings

The findings showed that most bettors ceased or seriously reduced their betting. In general, they did not substitute it with other forms of gambling. The majority of respondents saved time and money. Many of them also declared not missing betting.

Implications

The results did not depict sports bettors as desperate to resume betting, and willing to substitute it for any other gambling form in order to maintain their gambling habit. The betting industry’s efforts to mitigate the impact of sport events cancellations by promoting virtual sports, esports, or other casino games do not seem to be especially attractive for regular sports bettors.

KEYWORDS:

• Sports betting
• gambling
• gambling behaviour
• covid-19
• Poland

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

HLG was funded by the Beatriu de Pinós programme of the Secretariat for Universities and Research (grant number 2017 BP00035).