A systematic review of gambling amongst elite athletes with a focus on females

Background and aims

Over the last decade, research interest has grown around the subject of gambling among elite athletes, with studies showing higher problem gambling rates among this cohort compared with the general population. However, there is little research focusing on elite female athletes and whether the factors that influence gambling differ between males and females. Taking into consideration the rapid growth of professionalisation of female sport, this systematic review aims to identify what is known about gambling amongst elite athletes, males and females, and what methodologies have been used to investigate this research topic.

Method

This study followed the PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews and the search was conducted in three electronic databases: Scopus, PsycINFO and PubMed, and a further control search carried out on Google Scholar. Overall, 16 papers met the inclusion criteria.

Results

The majority of studies captured data either only from or almost exclusively from male athletes. Only five papers had gender balanced samples, and they utilised a quantitative research design, guided by a psychological/pathological perspective. Male athletes were found to be more likely to develop a gambling problem compared with female athletes. Within the qualitative studies, gambling culture at sports clubs was identified as a key factor influencing male athletes to gamble, but it could not be concluded whether this is also the case for female athletes.

Discussion and conclusion

More work is needed to determine whether sports related factors such as a gambling culture can contribute to gambling problems for female athletes. A lack of qualitative studies was identified and therefore, the review calls for more qualitative research to explore gambling in female sports clubs. Additionally, it is recommended that sporting organisations support researchers in conducting meaningful research to design policies and interventions to reduce gambling harms amongst athletes.