ABSTRACT
Gambling research often refers to attitude and belief measurements to distinguish between problem and non-problem gamblers. Past studies also indicated that problem gamblers have a tendency to steeply discount rewards. The authors join both research streams and investigate the relationships between attitudes and beliefs on gambling addiction with the moderating effects of delay discounting using a novel methodological approach of double-hurdle model. They thereby differentiate the five sub-dimensions of the Gambling Attitude and Belief Scale (GABS): emotions, chasing, luck, attitudes and strategies. Findings show that emotional predispositions and chasing tendencies are positively related to the severity of online gambling addiction, independent of gamblers’ impulsivity. In contrast, gambling attitudes act as inhibitor for gamblers willing to wait for some time to receive higher reward. Findings show that money-related impulsiveness influences the relationship between sub-dimensions of GABS and gambling addiction: gambling attitudes and beliefs do not necessarily harm online gamblers but their positive or negative relationship to addiction depends on online gamblers’ impulsivity.