Women may experience a gambling addiction for many motives. Women can develop a gambling problem for several reasons. They might be bored, lonely or feel the urge to escape reality. Changes in life, such as children leaving, death of a friend, or financial pressures can also cause excessive gambling behavior.
Gambling companies have recognized that their sexist marketing practices leave out a significant portion of potential clients (women). This has led to an evolution in their approach as some have shifted to more feminine and gender-neutral concepts.
Female gambling statistics
Although gambling is often considered an activity for men, women are increasingly becoming victims of the harms caused by gambling. This is true especially when it comes to betting on the web. Recent years have seen the amount of women seeking treatment for gambling-related problems has increased to a staggering rate. However, fewer women participate in gaming regulation or in research. Self-help groups are dominated by males and may discourage women from taking part in.
The study employed a qualitative approach to ask a sample comprising 509 Australian females about their gambling aspirations, their preferences regarding products as well as their perceptions of harms. Data were analyzed using a series of analytical tools which included inductive and deductive code. Three axial categories were identified that corresponded to the 3 key events in women’s encounters with harms resulting from gambling. The research findings are vital to understanding the gender differences that exist in gambling behavior and they highlight the importance for a gender-specific approach in interventions to improve public health.
Gambling gender gap
The gambling industry and its products become increasingly accessible and normalised and accepted by the public, women have greater levels of gambling more than before. The gender divide in harm from gambling is increased. Three times more men are more likely to be trouble gamblers as females.
Many danger factors have been found to be associated with the rise in gambling among females, which includes an impulsive response to stress and taking risks. Researchers have discovered that both significantly predict gambling participation and related problems. Also, it is important to note that these aspects aren’t able to be the reason why some subgroups of females are more susceptible to harms resulting from gambling.
As a result, researchers have created a framework dealing with gender differences in gambling harm. This framework is based on strategies used successfully for tobacco control and is adapted to meet the specific needs of women who are involved in preventing harm from gambling. This document outlines important considerations which should be taken into account when developing future policies as well as research and practice.
Trends in gambling online women
The trend is growing of women playing online. It is believed that the growth of internet-based gambling and its capacity to fit into life’s demands is a likely reason for this trend. A few studies have examined how women’s gambling behavior, preference for certain products, and perceptions of risk can be different.
This issue is because women have been found to be more susceptible of suffering from gambling-related issues. Also, they’re more likely to seek assistance regarding these problems.
It has also been found that women are playing more frequently and across the full spectrum of goods than men. It is particularly true of the younger age group. This could indicate that women are shifting away from the products of chance such as EGMs and into more skill-based gambling options, like sports betting and lottery games. They are also more likely to be gambling in a group with their friends than males. Gaming is a social activity, which is reflected in the TV commercials featuring female players of slot machines.
Gambling addiction in women
Although gambling is typically seen as being a primarily male activity increasing numbers of women are suffering from addiction to gambling and seeking assistance. This is particularly true in stressful times, such as the pandemic, when many players turned to online games and apps to relieve tension. Researchers are trying to figure out how this happens and ways to be prevented.
One hypothesis suggests that this can be attributed to the “feminization of gambling, which has helped make it more popular and less stigmatising for females. It is essential to conduct more research for a better understanding of how gambling addiction affects different women subgroups. Particularly, it’s important to explore how they perceive the risks of gambling and the ways in which this differs between sub-groups. This allows for the design of harm prevention measures and policies that are more relevant to women. The approach has proved successful across other fields, including tobacco control. It could be helpful for tackling problems with gambling in teens and young children.