Anticipated Enjoyment and Perceived Fairness: Drivers of Online Gambling Intention
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Anticipated enjoyment and perceived fairness: Drivers of online gambling intention Abstract Gambling has been around for hundreds, possibly thousands, of years, and is arguably one of the oldest forms of entertainment. It is a multifaceted phenomenon that has the obvious attraction of allowing a person the chance to win large amounts of money or a significant prize. While being a fascinating aspect of consumer behaviour, marketing scholars have shied away from giving it attention. This research focuses on recreational gambling and pursues a consumer behaviour perspective that seeks better understanding of online gambling intentions, by applying the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Technology – UTAUT/ UTAUT 2, to an online gambling context. It proposes additional hypotheses that account for the role of anticipated enjoyment and perceived fairness. Data are collected from 593 casino customers of an online gambling firm and analysed using PLS-SEM via Smart PLS. Results show that perceived fairness and anticipated enjoyment are significant drivers of gambling intention, with perceived fairness being fully mediated by effort expectancy, anticipated enjoyment and social influence. Shorn of drivers and moderators that have not been found to be significant, a gambling intention model titled UTAUT-GIM is proposed. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed, limitations are noted and areas for further research are suggested. 1. Introduction Gambling has been around for hundreds, possibly thousands, of years, and is arguably one of the oldest forms of entertainment (Reith, 2002). It is a multifaceted phenomenon that has the obvious attraction of allowing a person the chance to win large amounts of money or a significant prize. However, the reputation of gambling remains questionable (Shani et al., 2014), and over the past centuries it has been promoted and leveraged as a source of state income, as well as looked down upon, completely prohibited or severely restricted (Binde, 2005a, 2007a; Reith, 2002). Both behavioural economics and psychology have sought to understand gambling behaviour. On one hand behavioural economics provides Expected Utility Theory (EUT) to explain lotteries and gambling behaviour (von Neumann & Morgenstern, 1944). However, the basic assumption in EUT is that humans consistently follow rules of rationality. This has been criticised and prospect theory and its elaboration has been proposed as an alternative (Kahneman, Tversky, & Kahneman, 2012). However, prospect theory “can hardly be called an operational theory for choice simulation and prediction and is still predominantly an explanatory choice theory” (Van de Kaa, 2008, p. 30). On the other hand, psychology, has devoted considerable attention to gambling behaviour. The literature suggests that besides winning, other factors are at play in the decision to gamble. These include risk-taking and excitement (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990; Zuckerman, 1994), with risk preferences and attitudes toward risk generally being greater among men (Byrnes et al., 1999) and among those with certain personality traits, such as sensation- seekers (Mishra et al., 2010; Zuckerman, 2007). However, gambling is also a social activity that many are socialised into pursuing early on in their lives (e.g., card games, bingo) and for many, a visit to a casino with friends remains a social activity and a form of entertainment (Binde, 2013). The attraction of gambling is augmented by the glamour of the associated lifestyles as portrayed in films and as invoked by advertising (Sklar & Derevensky, 2010). Still, gambling can also be a form of escapism from unpleasant mood states that include coping with loneliness or boredom (Alex Blaszczynski & Nower, 2002; Rockloff & Dyer, 2006; Rockloff et al., 2011). The downside of gambling is possible addiction which carries a considerable stigma in society (Binde, 2005a; Reith, 2002). Indeed, a primary focus of the research on gambling in psychology has been on problematic gambling, addiction and related issues concerning health (e.g., Auer & Griffiths, 2013; Alex Blaszczynski & Nower, 2002; Calado & Griffiths, 2016; Gainsbury et al., 2014; M. D. Griffiths, 2013; LaBrie et al., 2008; Parke, Griffiths, & Irwing, 2004; Philander & MacKay, 2014; Rockloff & Dyer, 2006; Rousseau & Venter, 2002; Shaffer, Hall, & Vander Bilt, 1999; Sutton & Griffiths, 2007; Wardle et al., 2011; Wohl, Young, & Hart, 2007). In point of fact, psychology recognizes gambling behaviour that causes significant problems or distress as a gambling disorder. While gambling disorder concerns need to be borne in mind, it is to be noted that the presence of problem gambling in countries across the world is limited and ranges from 0.12 to 5.8% of players (Calado & Griffiths, 2016). It is therefore useful to distinguish between those suffering from gambling disorder, and recreational gamblers. The former exhibit “persistent and recurrent maladaptive gambling behavior that disrupts personal, family, and/or vocational pursuits” with one of its characteristics being “the frequent, and often long- term, pattern of ‘chasing’ one's losses” (American Psychiatric Association, 2013, p. 586). On the other hand, recreational gamblers are those who gamble for fun, are able to remain within their means and can stop anytime (National Addiction Service of Singapore, 2013). Notwithstanding the increasing acceptance of recreational gambling, the negative associations generally attributed to it have possibly been the main reasons why marketing researchers have often shied away from studying customer behaviour in the industry. An important facilitator for the steady expansion of the industry has been the rise of the Internet. The land-based sector is maturing (Mizerski, 2013) and moving itself into the online sphere (e.g., Gaming Innovation Group, 2019; Hard Rock International, 2018), with revenues for online gambling expected to more than double, from about US$ 46 billion in 2019 to US$ 94 billion in 2024 (Statista.com, 2019b). Cotte and Latour (2009) report that the first online casino opened its virtual doors in 1994. In contrast, today, customers can pick and choose from thousands of websites (Casino City, 2019). There is no longer a need to travel to a casino, betting shop or race circuit to play a table game, slot machine or to place a bet. It can all be done from the comfort of home and at any time that is convenient. These advantages are not without some drawbacks – customers forgo social contact while easier access to financial resources can lead to uncontrolled expenditures (Wood & Williams, 2009). Besides providing new opportunities and markets, it would also seem that the Internet has helped the gambling industry to diminish the importance of location. However, at a macro level, location remains important as online gambling operators wanting to offer their services to customers need to obtain licenses from authorities in a particular jurisdiction. In Europe, several countries have developed their own gambling legislation, aiming to control online gambling and protect their citizens from unfair practices (e.g., Altaner, 2019; Finansdepartementet, 2018; Gibbs, 2019; Kulturdepartementet, 1993). Fairness is indeed not only a concern for legislators (e.g., Ahmed & Megaw, 2016; BBC, 2018; UKGC, 2017b, 2017a, 2018c, 2018a), but also for players, who may complain about unfair promotions or bonuses, late pay outs of winnings or unfair treatment by customer service representatives (e.g., Askgamblers.com, 2019; ‘Beeswax’, 2018; Davidovic, 2015; Mitrovic, 2019; ‘PetraPool’, 2019). These concerns are possibly amplified by the common misconception that online operators have “an ‘on/off’ switch that can be used to cheat customers” (Gainsbury et al., 2013, p. 243). While regulatory bodies and legislators across the European Union are working together to improve and harmonize legislation among member states, there is, as yet, no common framework (European Commission, 2019). In addition to their concern for fairness, players are frequently motivated by a sense of fun and enjoyment that gambling offers. Indeed, McCormack, Shorter and Griffiths (2014) report that, next to winning money and general convenience, fun and enjoyment were important motivators for players to engage in online gambling. Similarly, Nower and Blaszczynski (2010) report that fun and enjoyment are among the most important indicators for players to gamble on Electronic Gambling Machines, especially for recreational gamblers. This is not surprising, as despite (or perhaps because of) increased media attention and regulation, online gambling is increasingly being viewed as a normal leisure activity. Thus, some people may spend their money on going to the theatre or to the cinema, others prefer to play games of chance (Binde, 2005b, 2005a; Reith, 2002). Given the growth of the online gambling industry, it is surprising that this technology enabled entertainment service continues to receive little attention by marketing scholars. This study aims to explore the drivers of online gambling intention and to contribute to our knowledge of gambling behaviour. To do so, this research uses the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and UTAUT 2 (Venkatesh et al., 2003, 2012) that represent the most recent iteration in models seeking to explain behaviour intention. In addition to the original constructs employed in these models, hypotheses are proposed for the role of anticipated enjoyment and perceived fairness. The original UTAUT