Religion, spirituality and associations with problem gambling

Abstract

Little is known about the contribution of religion and spirituality to the development of problem gambling. This paper examines one of the reasons associated with religion and spirituality which was given by respondents in a larger study of why people gamble in New Zealand. A survey questionnaire of reasons was derived from focus groups and interviews with practitioners, problem gamblers and their families, and was completed by a convenience sample of 244 regular gamblers in the South Auckland population. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the 148 problem gamblers in the sample were more than three times as likely as non-problem gamblers to endorse the reason that gambling gives hope and an opportunity for a better life, after controlling for continuous gambling and demographic risk factors. This aspiration suggests that there might be other salient factors linking religion and spirituality to problem gambling, which need further investigation.