Factors Influencing Online Betting Behavior in Thai Society

  • Bundit Anuyahong and Wipanee Pengnate
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  • Bundit Anuyahong

    Professor at English Department, College of General Education and Languages, Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand

  • Wipanee Pengnate

    Professor at English Department, College of General Education and Languages, Thai-Nichi Institute of Technology, Bangkok, Thailand

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Abstract

Gambling is a popular activity among adolescents and adults, and they remain at high risk for developing gambling-related problems. One of the most significant changes to the gambling environment in the past 15 years has been the increased availability of Internet gambling. Internet, including mobile, gambling is the fastest growing mode of gambling and is changing the way that gamblers engage with this activity. Due to the high level of accessibility, immersive interface, and ease at which money can be spent, concerns have been expressed that Internet gambling may increase rates of disordered gambling. The objective of the study was to determine factors that influence online betting. This includes the analyse of gambling behaviours, gambling beliefs and gambling motives. This includes analysing online gambling in Thai society.

Type

Research Paper

Information

International Journal of Law Management and Humanities, Volume 4, Issue 3, Page 132 - 138

DOI: http://doi.one/10.1732/IJLMH.26746

Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution -NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits remixing, adapting, and building upon the work for non-commercial use, provided the original work is properly cited.

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Copyright © IJLMH 2021

I. Introduction

Gambling promotion and the growth of sports betting is a fairly recent phenomenon. Betting on results, fixtures and sporting events is becoming increasingly prevalent in western countries. Online betting is surpassing all other forms of participation, although the literature is limited (Palmer, 2013). Gambling operators are taking advantage of this trend to move into new markets by using innovative marketing campaigns. Liberalization of online gambling will occur globally as there is increased recognition of the difficulties prohibiting Internet gambling. Customer loyalty and patronage become very important as Internet gambling sites face heavy competition from thousands of available options (Gainsbury et al., 2013).

The gambling industry saw a continuation of strong economic impact toward countries operating gambling facilities, and the gross revenues have rapidly increased in these few decades (Wu & Wortman, 2009). There is an increase in Internet use worldwide due to the fact that there is a technology that supports the Internet, readily available and high-speed Internet and low-cost Internet access (Gainsbury et al., 2013). The introduction of smartphones and tablets has contributed to a big burst in the IT industry during the last decade. There has been a change in how we are consuming it; expansion of the Internet to everyday life has resulted in the digitalization of betting services (Wellman, 2011). Sports betting is now part of the experience of watching sports; it is also a more sophisticated form of gambling which young people can widely access (Gainsbury & Derevensky, 2013).

Internet gambling (a term largely interchangeable with interactive remote and online gambling) refers to the range of wagering and gaming activities offered through Internet-enabled devices, including computers, mobile and smartphones, tablets, and digital television. This mode of gambling, facilitated by technological advances, increased Internet availability and ownership of Internet-enabled devices, is not a separate type of gambling activity. Rather it is a mode of access that is distinct from gambling in-person at terrestrial or land-based retail outlets and placing wagers over the telephone. As such, it is a largely automated activity that is conducted in private, at any time and location, using high-speed Internet connections, enabling rapid placement of bets and notification of outcomes. The ability for large wagers, continuous gambling, rapid feedback, and instant, easy access to a vast number of betting options has resulted in concerns that Internet gambling could contribute to excessive gambling (Gainsbury and Wood, 2011; Monaghan, 2009).

In Thailand, there is an estimated 70 percent of adults gambling regularly, and the total value added involved huge-possibly over 200 billion baht a year (Phongpaichit, 1999). The discussion on casino politics and economic agendas is another vein to persuasive illegal and underground Thai gambling, which entails most forms of betting (in particular football betting), illegal dens, cock-fighting, and underground lottery. Horse racing, however, is the only legal form of gambling in Thailand, whereas the casinos are, of course, scattered on the borders in Laos, Cambodia, and Burma (Phongpaichit,1999 second cited in You, 2004).

II. Gambling behaviour

Gambling is familiar to people all over the world. There are currently many types of gambling online. They are created by a host into a variety of playing styles. Some countries rapidly opened investigations into whether it is legal or not. Moreover, gambling behaviour between developed countries and underdeveloped countries is clearly different. In South Africa, there were 40 legal casinos at one time, but it caused many problems because the people played with the hope of getting rich rather than playing for fun and relaxation.

Contrast that to developed countries such as the UK where the majority of people gamble for fun to relaxation. Sornsuphap (2012) referred to the comparison of a gambling casino to Singapore that is not just for gambling but is also includes tourist attractions such as department store, museum and so on. The number of problems is smaller because law enforcement is rigorous. There are two ways for recognizing risk: probability and consequence that affects the player’s thinking. These risks are indirectly influenced by trust and influence in the decision-making process of the gambler to use online games (Lee, Lee, & Kim 2007; Fortes, Moreira & Saraiva, 2016). Players who continue to raise their bets show that the player is more confident. It shows less control over the players who control their betting level (Blaszczynski & Nower, 2007).

III. Gambling beliefs

Gambling defined differently across cultures. It notes that gambling is plated by the collective attitude and acquired via cultural customs (Dickins & Thomas, 2016). These alternative definitions of gambling results suggest that certain gambling may be perceived as acceptable in some cultures but for others. Chinese gamblers (Oei & Goh, 2015) believed those cultural beliefs help prompt or protect against disordered gambling because of various risk and protective factors. It has been speculated that cultural beliefs which favour gambling, i.e., those based on superstition, faith, luck, and chance, might encourage cross-cultural differences in gambling by focusing on and participating in gambling regularly (Raylu & Oei, 2004). Meanwhile, luck and chance were in most cultures, while some cultures hand more profound beliefs in superstition, fate, luck, and chance as religion (Dickins & Thomas, 2016). Those beliefs will be expected to extend a given culture’s gambling practice (Papineau, 2005). Moreover, a case of American and Chinese gamblers has found similar strong superstition beliefs related to gambling rituals compared to Japanese and Korean gamblers who are not likely to endorse superstitions thinking types (Kim et al., 2015).

IV. Gambling motive

Rodgers et al. (2009) drew parallels between research examining drinking problems with that examining gambling problems, noting that research in the former area tends to be broader than the latter, focusing almost exclusively on measuring problem behaviours. Stewart and Zack (2008) used a similar approach, adapting a three-dimensional drinking motives questionnaire to form three-dimensional gambling motives one. Fifteen items assess three dimensions of enhancement motives (e.g., Because it’s fun), social motives (e.g., Because it’s what most of your friends do when you get together), and coping motives (e.g., To forget your worries). The subscales have good factor definition and were reliable in their initial study of 190 gamblers. Thus, this measure appears to be an appropriate measure of the motives for gambling.

Figure 1: Proposed model of the antecedents of gambling

This model specifies that gambling cognitions, arousal, personality, and an individuals’ cognitive framework are related to gambling behaviour. In addition, psychological problems are also related to behaviour, although these may be an outcome variable. Finally, gambling problems are related to more frequent engagement in gambling.

V. Conclusion and discussion

Gambling in Thai society has demonstrated that different circumstances in the gambling process styles as an overview in figure 3. First, the original gambling style and secondly, the new gambling style. They had the medium for playing lottery, person and website. Person medium was who gets a lottery from the player and submit them to host of lottery gamble. It is available in original gambling style as opposed to website medium in new gamble style. Those websites where a program that is designed by a programmer to serve a player online with a credit account. At the same, the original gambling style through a medium (person) was only using cash or credit along with promotions, e.g., discount 5 – 10%, pay after the result come in, pay next round and so on.

 Figure 2: the review of how difference behaviour of Thai beliefs on gambling

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VI. References

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