Examining participation in sports betting in Germany

Abstract

Previous research has examined participation in betting in general, while sports bets have not been investigated specifically. The purpose of this study is to investigate the participation in sports betting and the mechanisms to place bets in Germany. Based on the economic household theory, it is assumed that participation in sports betting can be explained by a set of economic, socio-demographic, and lifestyle factors. A convenience sample of German citizens is drawn using an online survey (n=464). The results show that the typical online bettor is a male with high income, low education, and non-German nationality, who plays cards and poker during his leisure time, but does not regularly participate in sport. On the contrary, people betting via automats are predominantly female with low income and high education, who do not play poker, but practice sport in their leisure time. The findings have implications for policy makers.