Sports Betting
Sports betting has evolved from a predominantly land-based recreational activity into a highly accessible digital form of gambling. The expansion of smartphones, mobile technologies, online bookmakers and in-play betting has transformed not only how people place bets but also how they interact with gambling markets. As a result, understanding consumer behaviour in sports betting requires attention to a complex combination of motivations, perceived skill, financial expectations, technological accessibility and psychological biases.
Two studies provide particularly useful perspectives on these issues: Bulboaca and Tierean (2021), who examine consumer behaviour in the sports betting market, and Killick and Griffiths, whose qualitative research investigates the relationship between online sports betting and problem gambling. Although the studies address different dimensions of sports betting behaviour, together they demonstrate that bettors cannot be treated as a homogeneous consumer group.
Bulboaca and Tierean attempt to distinguish between different categories of bettors according to their experience, motivations, information and financial involvement. Killick and Griffiths, by contrast, concentrate more specifically on the experiences of individuals displaying characteristics associated with problem gambling. Comparing these studies therefore provides a broader understanding of why people engage in sports betting and how ordinary recreational betting can intersect with potentially harmful gambling behaviour.
Understanding the Diversity of Sports Bettors
One of the important contributions of Bulboaca and Tierean (2021) is their attempt to contextualise sports betting consumers according to different characteristics. Rather than viewing all bettors as a single consumer category, they identify distinctions between recreational and more experienced bettors, individuals wagering relatively small amounts and those placing higher-stakes bets, and well-informed and less-informed participants.
This segmentation is significant because motivations for sports betting may differ considerably between consumer groups. A recreational bettor may regard betting primarily as entertainment or as an additional way of engaging with a sporting event. An experienced bettor, in contrast, may place greater emphasis on knowledge, statistical information and perceived betting expertise.
This distinction also connects with the earlier work of Bruce (2013), who identifies four important motivations associated with sports betting: financial gain, enthusiasm, social interaction and intellectual challenge. These motivations illustrate why sports betting cannot be reduced simply to the desire to make money. Betting can simultaneously function as a financial activity, a form of entertainment, a social experience and an intellectual exercise.
Bulboaca and Tierean build upon this conceptual foundation by examining how these motivations appear among sports betting consumers in practice.
Financial Gain as a Major Motivation
Financial gain occupies an important position in the literature on sports betting. Bruce (2013) identifies financial gain as a central motivation for gambling, and Bulboaca and Tierean’s findings provide empirical support for the importance of monetary considerations among their respondents.
Their research indicates that 82.5% of respondents bet on a weekly basis, while the majority reported relatively small levels of expenditure. Approximately 66.1% reported betting less than 20 Romanian lei, while the broader group of respondents generally wagered less than 50 lei per week.
These findings are important because they demonstrate that the financial motivation for betting does not necessarily mean that bettors are engaging in extremely high-stakes gambling. Financial expectations can exist even when the amount wagered is comparatively small. The economic motivation of sports betting therefore needs to be considered alongside recreational and experiential motivations.
The findings also raise an important question: does the size of the wager determine the importance of financial motivation, or can even relatively small bets be driven by expectations of financial gain? The evidence presented by Bulboaca and Tierean suggests that monetary motivation can operate even within relatively low-stakes betting environments.
Skill Versus Luck in Sports Betting
Perhaps one of the most interesting dimensions of Bulboaca and Tierean’s research is their examination of the relationship between skill and luck.
Sports betting occupies an unusual position because bettors can acquire substantial information about teams, players, statistics, previous performances and sporting conditions. This availability of information can create the perception that betting outcomes are controllable through knowledge and expertise.
Skill-based activities generally provide individuals with some degree of perceived control over outcomes. Sports betting, however, contains an unavoidable element of uncertainty. Even a highly informed bettor cannot completely control the outcome of a sporting event.
This tension between skill and chance is particularly relevant to the concept of the illusion of control. Langer (1975) described the illusion of control as a tendency for individuals to overestimate their ability to influence outcomes that are actually determined, at least partly, by chance.
In sports betting, this phenomenon may be especially significant because bettors possess genuine knowledge about the activity. A person may correctly identify relevant statistics, understand team performance and follow sporting developments closely, yet still overestimate how much this information allows them to control the final outcome.
The Dunning-Kruger Effect and Sports Betting
Bulboaca and Tierean also connect sports betting behaviour with the Dunning-Kruger effect. Originally developed by Kruger and Dunning (1999), the effect describes how individuals with limited competence in a particular domain may overestimate their own ability because they lack sufficient knowledge to accurately assess their performance.
Applied to sports betting, this concept offers an interesting explanation of why inexperienced bettors may develop excessive confidence in their betting decisions. Limited knowledge can make it difficult for an individual to recognise the complexity of probability, randomness and uncertainty.
At the same time, more knowledgeable individuals may recognise how difficult accurate prediction actually is. Greater expertise can therefore produce greater awareness of uncertainty rather than necessarily producing absolute confidence.
The Dunning-Kruger perspective consequently adds another layer to the skill-versus-luck debate in sports betting. Knowledge can influence betting decisions, but knowledge does not eliminate randomness. The critical issue is therefore not simply whether bettors possess information but how accurately they evaluate the predictive value of that information.
Availability Heuristics and the Illusion of Control
The relationship between cognitive biases and sports betting is also central to the work discussed by Killick and Griffiths. Their analysis draws attention to availability heuristics, a concept associated with Tversky and Kahneman (1973).
Availability heuristics describe the tendency to judge the likelihood or importance of an event according to how easily examples come to mind. In sports betting, memorable sporting events, recent performances or highly publicised results may become disproportionately influential in decision-making.
For example, a bettor who vividly remembers a team winning several recent matches may place excessive emphasis on those memorable outcomes when evaluating its future prospects. The accessibility of the information can create a perception that the event is more predictable than it actually is.
This cognitive mechanism can interact with the illusion of control. Bettors may interpret accessible information as evidence that they understand an event and can therefore predict its outcome. However, the availability of information does not necessarily correspond to its predictive accuracy.
The distinction is crucial: having more information does not automatically mean having more control.
The Digital Transformation of Sports Betting
While Bulboaca and Tierean focus primarily on consumer behaviour, Killick and Griffiths place much greater emphasis on the transformation of sports betting through digital technology.
The growth of smartphones, mobile internet and online bookmakers has fundamentally changed the accessibility of gambling. Sports betting no longer requires a physical visit to a bookmaker. Instead, consumers can place bets through mobile devices from almost any location.
Killick and Griffiths identify several factors that have contributed to this transformation, including the growth of online bookmakers, promotional incentives, welcome offers and the convenience of online betting platforms.
The significance of this development extends beyond convenience. When betting becomes easier to access, the temporal and physical barriers separating gambling episodes are reduced. A consumer who previously had to travel to a bookmaker can now place a wager almost immediately through a smartphone.
This creates a different consumption environment in which betting can become integrated into everyday digital behaviour.
From the Bookmaker to the Smartphone
One of the important themes emerging from Killick and Griffiths’ qualitative research is the transition from traditional bookmaker-based betting to online sports betting.
Their participants described experiences in which betting initially occurred in physical bookmaker shops before moving towards online platforms. The transition illustrates how technological development has altered the consumer journey.
Traditional betting required a deliberate physical action: visiting a bookmaker, selecting a bet and completing the transaction. Online betting removes many of these barriers.
The resulting environment can be characterised by three important features identified in their research:
- Ease of placing a bet
- Ability to bet from almost anywhere
- Greater accessibility through online bookmakers
These features help explain why technological innovation is not simply a neutral change in the method of payment. It can also change the frequency, timing and circumstances in which consumers engage with sports betting.
In-Play Betting and the Acceleration of Gambling
One of the most significant structural characteristics of modern online sports betting is in-play betting. Unlike traditional pre-match betting, in-play betting allows consumers to place wagers while a sporting event is taking place.
Griffiths and other researchers have associated characteristics such as bet frequency and event frequency with problem gambling. The importance of in-play betting lies partly in its ability to shorten the time between successive betting opportunities.
A football match, for example, can provide numerous opportunities to place wagers rather than a single opportunity before kick-off. This transforms one sporting event into a sequence of potential gambling episodes.
Killick and Griffiths highlight the relationship between these structural characteristics and problem gambling behaviour. Participants with higher levels of problem gambling were reported as engaging with features such as in-play betting and cash-out functionality.
The Cash-Out Feature and Continuous Gambling
Another important technological development is the cash-out feature.
Lopez-Gonzalez and Griffiths (2017) discuss cash-out functionality as a feature that allows bettors to settle a wager before the sporting event has concluded, receiving the value offered by the operator at that moment.
From a consumer perspective, cash-out can create an additional decision point. Instead of simply waiting for the final outcome of a bet, consumers are presented with another opportunity to evaluate their position and make a further decision.
Cash-out therefore contributes to what Parke and Parke (2019) describe as an “online sports betting loop.” This loop combines structural features such as in-play betting, cash-out and rapid depositing, creating an environment in which the end of one betting decision can become the beginning of another.
The significance of this structure becomes particularly important when considered alongside problem gambling. The more rapidly consumers can move between betting, evaluating and placing another wager, the fewer opportunities there may be for the natural interruption of gambling behaviour.
Problem Gambling and the Online Betting Environment
Killick and Griffiths’ research differs from Bulboaca and Tierean’s study in an important respect: its principal concern is problem gambling behaviour.
Their qualitative study involved 19 participants from different parts of the UK and used the Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI) as a measure of gambling-related problems.
Rather than treating online betting simply as another consumer activity, the study investigates how technological accessibility can become intertwined with problematic gambling patterns.
Three themes are particularly relevant:
- the transition from bookmaker shops to online betting;
- the increasing ease of placing bets; and
- the ability to place bets almost anywhere.
Together, these themes demonstrate how technological accessibility can alter the relationship between consumers and gambling.
Comparing the Two Studies
The differences between Bulboaca and Tierean and Killick and Griffiths are particularly useful for understanding the wider sports betting landscape.
| Dimension | Bulboaca & Tierean (2021) | Killick & Griffiths |
| Primary focus | Consumer behaviour in sports betting | Online sports betting and problem gambling |
| Key population | Romanian sports bettors | UK sports betting participants |
| Approach | Empirical consumer behaviour research | Qualitative research |
| Major themes | Motivation, skill, luck, information and betting behaviour | Accessibility, technology and problem gambling |
| Key psychological concept | Illusion of control and Dunning-Kruger effect | Cognitive biases and illusion of control |
| Betting environment | Sports betting generally | Online sports betting |
| Technology | Less central to the overall argument | Central to the analysis |
| Problem gambling | Not the principal focus | Central focus |
| Important structural features | Bettor characteristics and motivations | In-play betting, cash-out and instant accessibility |
The comparison shows that the studies examine different layers of the same phenomenon.
Bulboaca and Tierean primarily ask why people bet and how different types of bettors understand their behaviour. Killick and Griffiths ask how the structure of contemporary online betting may influence problematic gambling behaviour.
These perspectives are complementary rather than contradictory.
From Motivation to Behavioural Risk
Taken together, the studies suggest that sports betting behaviour emerges from an interaction between individual motivations and the structural characteristics of the betting environment.
At the individual level, consumers may be motivated by financial gain, entertainment, enthusiasm, social interaction or intellectual challenge. Their behaviour can also be influenced by their knowledge, experience and perceptions of skill.
At the structural level, online bookmakers provide rapid access to betting opportunities, in-play betting, cash-out facilities, promotional incentives and mobile access.
The combination is significant.
A consumer who believes that sporting knowledge provides an advantage may become more engaged with betting. Online technology then makes it possible to act on that engagement rapidly and repeatedly. Cognitive biases such as availability heuristics and the illusion of control can further influence how consumers interpret betting outcomes.
Consequently, sports betting should not be understood solely as an individual’s financial decision. It is also a consumer behaviour phenomenon shaped by psychological, technological and social factors.
The Importance of Context in Understanding Sports Bettors
An important lesson from the comparison is that there is no single “sports bettor.”
Bettors vary in terms of experience, financial involvement, knowledge, motivation and engagement. Some may participate occasionally for entertainment, while others may engage with betting more frequently and through increasingly sophisticated online features.
This diversity makes segmentation particularly important in sports betting research.
At the same time, categorising bettors should not obscure the possibility that behaviour can change over time. A recreational bettor may become increasingly engaged with online betting because of technological accessibility, while an experienced bettor may still be vulnerable to cognitive biases.
Therefore, categories such as recreational, experienced, novice, informed and uninformed bettors should be understood as analytical distinctions rather than permanently fixed identities.
Conclusion
Bulboaca and Tierean (2021) and Killick and Griffiths provide complementary perspectives for understanding contemporary sports betting behaviour. Bulboaca and Tierean broaden the analysis by examining the diversity of bettors and exploring motivations associated with financial gain, enthusiasm, social interaction and intellectual challenge. Their discussion of skill, luck, the illusion of control and the Dunning-Kruger effect demonstrates how bettors may interpret their own abilities and decisions.
Killick and Griffiths, meanwhile, shift attention towards the structural characteristics of online sports betting and their relationship with problem gambling. Their analysis highlights the importance of technological accessibility, mobile betting, in-play betting, cash-out functionality and the ability to place bets almost anywhere.
The most significant insight emerging from a comparison of the two studies is that sports betting behaviour is shaped by an interaction between consumer motivations, psychological biases and the design of the betting environment.
Sports betting may begin as a recreational activity driven by enthusiasm, social interaction or curiosity. However, the increasing accessibility of online platforms can transform the frequency and immediacy of betting opportunities. When these structural characteristics interact with cognitive biases such as the illusion of control and availability heuristics, understanding consumer behaviour becomes considerably more complex.
Ultimately, the literature demonstrates that sports betting is neither purely a game of chance nor simply a rational financial decision. It represents a complex consumer environment in which motivation, perceived expertise, information, technology, accessibility and psychological processes interact to shape betting behaviour.
By Team Cite&Wtrite
Bruce, A. (2013). Research on consumer motivations and behaviour in sports betting.
Bulboaca, S. & Tierean, O. (2021). Consumer Behaviour Analysis in the Sports Betting Market.
Griffiths, M. D. (2012). Research examining structural characteristics of gambling and their relationship with problem gambling.
Kruger, J., & Dunning, D. (1999). Unskilled and unaware of it: How difficulties in recognising one’s own incompetence lead to inflated self-assessments. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 77(6), 1121–1134.
Langer, E. J. (1975). The illusion of control. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 32(2), 311–328.
Lopez-Gonzalez, H., & Griffiths, M. D. (2017). Research examining the cash-out feature in online sports betting.
Lopez-Gonzalez, H., et al. (2017). Research concerning cognitive processes, sports betting and perceptions of control.
Parke, A., & Parke, J. (2019). Research on the structural characteristics of online sports betting and the “online sports betting loop.”
Tversky, A., & Kahneman, D. (1973). Availability: A heuristic for judging frequency and probability. Cognitive Psychology, 5(2), 207–232.