Online Gambling involves betting money on games over the Internet, with winnings paid in cash or in a form of virtual currency. It can be addictive and can lead to serious financial issues, emotional stress, social isolation, decline in work or academic performance, legal problems and health issues. It can also be harmful to relationships and families, and may cause a legacy of harm for generations to come.
To investigate knowledge about risk factors and protective factors in online gambling, a systematic literature search of peer-reviewed journals was performed. The search was limited to articles published between 2010 and 2020, using a syntax based on the PICO-format (population (P), intervention (I), comparison outcome (O)). The research question was “What are the risk and protective factors in online gambling?”
Results of the reviewed articles show that both individual and environmental variables influence gamblers’ behaviour. Personal factors include age, gender, and sex; in particular, women tend to be more problematic gamblers than men. In addition, a number of other personal factors have been found to be associated with gambling, such as stress, depression and anxiety. Environmental factors include the surrounding environment in which gamblers live, their family and social networks, as well as other influences such as the availability of casinos and gambling websites. A few studies have investigated the association between gambling and the university context, showing that students who are enrolled at universities are more likely to be gamblers.
